diff --git a/test/salt/pillar/salt.sls b/test/salt/pillar/salt.sls
index 9338f52..f0fe517 100644
--- a/test/salt/pillar/salt.sls
+++ b/test/salt/pillar/salt.sls
@@ -3,6 +3,11 @@
 ---
 salt:
   py_ver: 'py3'
+  # Pin to the salt version baked into the kitchen image so salt.minion/salt.master
+  # don't upgrade it to the repo's "latest" in place mid-converge — swapping the
+  # running onedir breaks the post-install module refresh, which raises:
+  #   ModuleNotFoundError: spec not found for the module 'site'
+  version: "{{ salt['grains.get']('saltversion') }}"
   # Override used for FreeBSD minion service
   retry_options:
     attempts: 5