diff --git a/docs/reference/environment-variables.rst b/docs/reference/environment-variables.rst
index 3413f4bd6..4714f77b9 100644
--- a/docs/reference/environment-variables.rst
+++ b/docs/reference/environment-variables.rst
@@ -59,6 +59,12 @@ Environment variables
    possible for ``meson-python`` to detect this, and it will not set the
    Python wheel platform tag accordingly.
 
+.. envvar:: MESON
+
+   Specifies the ``meson`` executable or script to use. It overrides
+   ``tool.meson-python.meson``. See :ref:`reference-pyproject-settings` for
+   more details.
+
 .. envvar:: MESONPY_EDITABLE_VERBOSE
 
    Setting this environment variable to any value enables directing to the
@@ -68,7 +74,7 @@ Environment variables
 
 .. envvar:: NINJA
 
-   Specify the ninja_ executable to use. It can also be used to select
+   Specifies the ninja_ executable to use. It can also be used to select
    ninja_ alternatives like samurai_.
 
 .. _ninja: https://ninja-build.org
diff --git a/docs/reference/pyproject-settings.rst b/docs/reference/pyproject-settings.rst
index f0921d019..3beb47c61 100644
--- a/docs/reference/pyproject-settings.rst
+++ b/docs/reference/pyproject-settings.rst
@@ -26,6 +26,14 @@ use them and examples.
    ``-Dpython.allow_limited_api=false`` option is passed to ``meson
    setup``.
 
+.. option:: tool.meson-python.meson
+
+   A string specifying the ``meson`` executable or script to use. If it is a
+   path to an existing file with a name ending in ``.py``, it will be invoked
+   as a Python script using the same Python interpreter that is used to run
+   ``meson-python`` itself. It can be overrridden by the :envvar:`MESON`
+   environment variable.
+
 .. option:: tool.meson-python.args.dist
 
    Extra arguments to be passed to the ``meson dist`` command.
diff --git a/mesonpy/__init__.py b/mesonpy/__init__.py
index afad4f363..a5d98bcc7 100644
--- a/mesonpy/__init__.py
+++ b/mesonpy/__init__.py
@@ -528,7 +528,15 @@ def _bool(value: Any, name: str) -> bool:
             raise ConfigError(f'Configuration entry "{name}" must be a boolean')
         return value
 
+    def _string_or_path(value: Any, name: str) -> str:
+        if not isinstance(value, str):
+            raise ConfigError(f'Configuration entry "{name}" must be a string')
+        if os.path.isfile(value):
+            value = os.path.abspath(value)
+        return value
+
     scheme = _table({
+        'meson': _string_or_path,
         'limited-api': _bool,
         'args': _table({
             name: _strings for name in _MESON_ARGS_KEYS
@@ -592,7 +600,7 @@ def _string_or_strings(value: Any, name: str) -> List[str]:
 class Project():
     """Meson project wrapper to generate Python artifacts."""
 
-    def __init__(  # noqa: C901
+    def __init__(
         self,
         source_dir: Path,
         build_dir: Path,
@@ -607,7 +615,22 @@ def __init__(  # noqa: C901
         self._meson_args: MesonArgs = collections.defaultdict(list)
         self._limited_api = False
 
-        _check_meson_version()
+        # load pyproject.toml
+        pyproject = tomllib.loads(self._source_dir.joinpath('pyproject.toml').read_text())
+
+        # load meson args from pyproject.toml
+        pyproject_config = _validate_pyproject_config(pyproject)
+        for key, value in pyproject_config.get('args', {}).items():
+            self._meson_args[key].extend(value)
+
+        # meson arguments from the command line take precedence over
+        # arguments from the configuration file thus are added later
+        if meson_args:
+            for key, value in meson_args.items():
+                self._meson_args[key].extend(value)
+
+        # determine command to invoke meson
+        self._meson = _get_meson_command(pyproject_config.get('meson'))
 
         self._ninja = _env_ninja_command()
         if self._ninja is None:
@@ -645,20 +668,6 @@ def __init__(  # noqa: C901
                     self._meson_cross_file.write_text(cross_file_data)
                     self._meson_args['setup'].extend(('--cross-file', os.fspath(self._meson_cross_file)))
 
-        # load pyproject.toml
-        pyproject = tomllib.loads(self._source_dir.joinpath('pyproject.toml').read_text())
-
-        # load meson args from pyproject.toml
-        pyproject_config = _validate_pyproject_config(pyproject)
-        for key, value in pyproject_config.get('args', {}).items():
-            self._meson_args[key].extend(value)
-
-        # meson arguments from the command line take precedence over
-        # arguments from the configuration file thus are added later
-        if meson_args:
-            for key, value in meson_args.items():
-                self._meson_args[key].extend(value)
-
         # write the native file
         native_file_data = textwrap.dedent(f'''
             [binaries]
@@ -740,7 +749,7 @@ def _configure(self, reconfigure: bool = False) -> None:
         ]
         if reconfigure:
             setup_args.insert(0, '--reconfigure')
-        self._run(['meson', 'setup', *setup_args])
+        self._run(self._meson + ['setup', *setup_args])
 
     @property
     def _build_command(self) -> List[str]:
@@ -750,7 +759,7 @@ def _build_command(self) -> List[str]:
             # environment. Using the --ninja-args option allows to
             # provide the exact same semantics for the compile arguments
             # provided by the users.
-            cmd = ['meson', 'compile']
+            cmd = self._meson + ['compile']
             args = list(self._meson_args['compile'])
             if args:
                 cmd.append(f'--ninja-args={args!r}')
@@ -824,7 +833,7 @@ def version(self) -> str:
     def sdist(self, directory: Path) -> pathlib.Path:
         """Generates a sdist (source distribution) in the specified directory."""
         # generate meson dist file
-        self._run(['meson', 'dist', '--allow-dirty', '--no-tests', '--formats', 'gztar', *self._meson_args['dist']])
+        self._run(self._meson + ['dist', '--allow-dirty', '--no-tests', '--formats', 'gztar', *self._meson_args['dist']])
 
         # move meson dist file to output path
         dist_name = f'{self.name}-{self.version}'
@@ -919,6 +928,37 @@ def _parse_version_string(string: str) -> Tuple[int, ...]:
         return (0, )
 
 
+def _get_meson_command(
+        meson: Optional[str] = None, *, version: str = _MESON_REQUIRED_VERSION
+    ) -> List[str]:
+    """Return the command to invoke meson."""
+
+    # The MESON env var, if set, overrides the config value from pyproject.toml.
+    # The config value, if given, is an absolute path or the name of an executable.
+    meson = os.environ.get('MESON', meson or 'meson')
+
+    # If the specified Meson string ends in `.py`, we run it with the current
+    # Python executable. This avoids problems for users on Windows, where
+    # making a script executable isn't enough to get it to run when invoked
+    # directly. For packages that vendor a forked Meson, the `meson.py` in the
+    # root of the Meson repo can be used this way.
+    if meson.endswith('.py'):
+        cmd = [sys.executable, meson]
+    else:
+        cmd = [meson]
+
+    # The meson Python package is a dependency of the meson-python Python
+    # package, however, it may occur that the meson Python package is installed
+    # but the corresponding meson command is not available in $PATH. Implement
+    # a runtime check to verify that the build environment is setup correcly.
+    required_version = _parse_version_string(version)
+    meson_version = subprocess.run(cmd + ['--version'], check=False, text=True, capture_output=True).stdout
+    if _parse_version_string(meson_version) < required_version:
+        raise ConfigError(f'Could not find meson version {version} or newer, found {meson_version}.')
+
+    return cmd
+
+
 def _env_ninja_command(*, version: str = _NINJA_REQUIRED_VERSION) -> Optional[str]:
     """Returns the path to ninja, or None if no ninja found."""
     required_version = _parse_version_string(version)
@@ -933,22 +973,6 @@ def _env_ninja_command(*, version: str = _NINJA_REQUIRED_VERSION) -> Optional[st
     return None
 
 
-def _check_meson_version(*, version: str = _MESON_REQUIRED_VERSION) -> None:
-    """Check that the meson executable in the path has an appropriate version.
-
-    The meson Python package is a dependency of the meson-python
-    Python package, however, it may occur that the meson Python
-    package is installed but the corresponding meson command is not
-    available in $PATH. Implement a runtime check to verify that the
-    build environment is setup correcly.
-
-    """
-    required_version = _parse_version_string(version)
-    meson_version = subprocess.run(['meson', '--version'], check=False, text=True, capture_output=True).stdout
-    if _parse_version_string(meson_version) < required_version:
-        raise ConfigError(f'Could not find meson version {version} or newer, found {meson_version}.')
-
-
 def _add_ignore_files(directory: pathlib.Path) -> None:
     directory.joinpath('.gitignore').write_text(textwrap.dedent('''
         # This file is generated by meson-python. It will not be recreated if deleted or modified.
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 91203197f..c55a5726c 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -82,7 +82,6 @@ extend-ignore = [
 select = [
   'B',       # flake8-bugbear
   'C4',      # flake8-comprehensions
-  'C9',      # mccabe
   'E',       # pycodestyle
   'F',       # pyflakes
   'W',       # pycodestyle
@@ -92,10 +91,6 @@ exclude = [
   'docs/conf.py',
 ]
 
-[tool.ruff.mccabe]
-max-complexity = 12
-
-
 [tool.isort]
 lines_between_types = 1
 lines_after_imports = 2
diff --git a/tests/packages/vendored-meson/meson.build b/tests/packages/vendored-meson/meson.build
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d3be1a790
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/packages/vendored-meson/meson.build
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2023 The meson-python developers
+#
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT
+
+project('vendored-meson', version: '1.0.0')
+
+py = import('python').find_installation()
+
+if not get_option('custom-meson-used')
+    error('Expected option "custom-meson-used" was not specified')
+endif
diff --git a/tests/packages/vendored-meson/meson_options.txt b/tests/packages/vendored-meson/meson_options.txt
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..fce15cd4f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/packages/vendored-meson/meson_options.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2023 The meson-python developers
+#
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT
+
+option('custom-meson-used', type: 'boolean', value: false)
diff --git a/tests/packages/vendored-meson/pyproject.toml b/tests/packages/vendored-meson/pyproject.toml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..118a060af
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/packages/vendored-meson/pyproject.toml
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2023 The meson-python developers
+#
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT
+
+[build-system]
+build-backend = 'mesonpy'
+requires = ['meson-python']
+
+[tool.meson-python]
+meson = 'third-party/meson.py'
diff --git a/tests/packages/vendored-meson/third-party/meson.py b/tests/packages/vendored-meson/third-party/meson.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..c9145a7b0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/packages/vendored-meson/third-party/meson.py
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2023 The meson-python developers
+#
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT
+
+import sys
+
+from mesonbuild import mesonmain
+
+
+if 'setup' in sys.argv:
+    sys.argv.append('-Dcustom-meson-used=true')
+
+
+if __name__ == '__main__':
+    sys.exit(mesonmain.main())
diff --git a/tests/test_wheel.py b/tests/test_wheel.py
index 6b68616d7..a480802a2 100644
--- a/tests/test_wheel.py
+++ b/tests/test_wheel.py
@@ -333,3 +333,9 @@ def test_install_subdir(wheel_install_subdir):
             'nested/deep/deep.py',
             'nested/nested.py',
         }
+
+
+def test_vendored_meson(wheel_vendored_meson):
+    # This test will error if the vendored meson.py wrapper script in
+    # the test package isn't used.
+    pass