diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index bbab9c66d..38a207819 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ set(CMAKE_C_STANDARD 11)
 # Set default build type
 if(NOT CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE)
 	message(STATUS "No CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE specified, setting build type to RELEASE.")
-	set(CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE "RELEASE")
+	set(CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE RELEASE CACHE STRING "Build type for project." FORCE)
 endif()
 
 # Convert to lower case string to ignore case