diff --git a/test/notmuch-test b/test/notmuch-test
index 91909264..cbd33f93 100755
--- a/test/notmuch-test
+++ b/test/notmuch-test
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ META_FAILURE=
 # Run the tests
 if test -z "$NOTMUCH_TEST_SERIALIZE" && command -v parallel >/dev/null ; then
     test -t 1 && export COLORS_WITHOUT_TTY=t || :
-    if parallel --version | grep -q GNU ; then
+    if parallel --version 2>&1 | grep -q GNU ; then
         echo "INFO: running tests with GNU parallel"
         printf '%s\n' $TESTS | $TEST_TIMEOUT_CMD parallel
     else