diff --git a/conf/minion b/conf/minion
index 70cbe8934a45..328c11b035c8 100644
--- a/conf/minion
+++ b/conf/minion
@@ -384,6 +384,12 @@
 # protected accordingly.
 #minion_pillar_cache: False
 
+# When set to True the minion will not request a pillar from the master upon
+# startup.  Pillar can still be fetched later via a manual operation like
+# `saltutil.refresh_pillar` or similar.  Enabling this option might break pillar
+# related functionality (e.g. pillar targeter).
+#skip_init_pillar: False
+
 # Grains cache expiration, in seconds. If the cache file is older than this
 # number of seconds then the grains cache will be dumped and fully re-populated
 # with fresh data. Defaults to 5 minutes. Will have no effect if 'grains_cache'
diff --git a/salt/cli/call.py b/salt/cli/call.py
index be3ded77e64e..e700f48014cd 100644
--- a/salt/cli/call.py
+++ b/salt/cli/call.py
@@ -46,6 +46,11 @@ def run(self):
             self.config["extension_modules"] = os.path.join(cache_dir, "extmods")
             prepend_root_dir(self.config, ["cachedir", "extension_modules"])
 
+        if self.config["fun"].split(".")[0] == "pillar":
+            if self.options.skip_init_pillar:
+                self.options.skip_init_pillar = False
+                self.config["skip_init_pillar"] = False
+
         caller = salt.cli.caller.Caller.factory(self.config)
 
         if self.options.doc:
diff --git a/salt/config/__init__.py b/salt/config/__init__.py
index dba7f316801d..b2ea83099aa8 100644
--- a/salt/config/__init__.py
+++ b/salt/config/__init__.py
@@ -621,6 +621,11 @@ def _gather_buffer_space():
         "pillar_cache_ttl": int,
         # Pillar cache backend. Defaults to `disk` which stores caches in the master cache
         "pillar_cache_backend": str,
+        # When set to True the minion will not request a pillar from the master upon startup.
+        # Pillar can still be fetched later via a manual operation like `saltutil.refresh_pillar` or
+        # similar.  Enabling this option might break pillar related functionality (e.g. pillar
+        # targeter).
+        "skip_init_pillar": bool,
         # Cache the GPG data to avoid having to pass through the gpg renderer
         "gpg_cache": bool,
         # GPG data cache TTL, in seconds. Has no effect unless `gpg_cache` is True
@@ -1077,6 +1082,7 @@ def _gather_buffer_space():
         "pillar_cache_backend": "disk",
         "request_channel_timeout": 60,
         "request_channel_tries": 3,
+        "skip_init_pillar": False,
         "gpg_cache": False,
         "gpg_cache_ttl": 86400,
         "gpg_cache_backend": "disk",
diff --git a/salt/minion.py b/salt/minion.py
index d2cf7c7fb966..67df8eaba4e0 100644
--- a/salt/minion.py
+++ b/salt/minion.py
@@ -442,13 +442,16 @@ def gen_modules(self, initial_load=False, context=None):
         if context is None:
             context = {}
         if initial_load:
-            self.opts["pillar"] = salt.pillar.get_pillar(
-                self.opts,
-                self.opts["grains"],
-                self.opts["id"],
-                self.opts["saltenv"],
-                pillarenv=self.opts.get("pillarenv"),
-            ).compile_pillar()
+            if self.opts.get("skip_init_pillar", False):
+                self.opts["pillar"] = {}
+            else:
+                self.opts["pillar"] = salt.pillar.get_pillar(
+                    self.opts,
+                    self.opts["grains"],
+                    self.opts["id"],
+                    self.opts["saltenv"],
+                    pillarenv=self.opts.get("pillarenv"),
+                ).compile_pillar()
 
         self.utils = salt.loader.utils(self.opts, context=context)
         self.functions = salt.loader.minion_mods(
@@ -1427,16 +1430,19 @@ def _post_master_init(self, master):
         if self.connected:
             self.opts["master"] = master
 
-            # Initialize pillar before loader to make pillar accessible in modules
-            async_pillar = salt.pillar.get_async_pillar(
-                self.opts,
-                self.opts["grains"],
-                self.opts["id"],
-                self.opts["saltenv"],
-                pillarenv=self.opts.get("pillarenv"),
-            )
-            self.opts["pillar"] = yield async_pillar.compile_pillar()
-            async_pillar.destroy()
+            if self.opts.get("skip_init_pillar", False):
+                self.opts["pillar"] = {}
+            else:
+                # Initialize pillar before loader to make pillar accessible in modules
+                async_pillar = salt.pillar.get_async_pillar(
+                    self.opts,
+                    self.opts["grains"],
+                    self.opts["id"],
+                    self.opts["saltenv"],
+                    pillarenv=self.opts.get("pillarenv"),
+                )
+                self.opts["pillar"] = yield async_pillar.compile_pillar()
+                async_pillar.destroy()
 
         if not self.ready:
             self._setup_core()
diff --git a/salt/utils/parsers.py b/salt/utils/parsers.py
index 97b3e4f7667f..e05239c3025e 100644
--- a/salt/utils/parsers.py
+++ b/salt/utils/parsers.py
@@ -2906,6 +2906,21 @@ def _mixin_setup(self):
             action="store_true",
             help="Do not load grains.",
         )
+        self.add_option(
+            "--no-skip-init-pillar",
+            default=True,
+            action="store_false",
+            dest="skip_init_pillar",
+            help=(
+                "Explicitly load pillar on minion startup (overrides any skip_init_pillar in /etc/salt/minion)"
+            ),
+        )
+        self.add_option(
+            "--skip-pillars",
+            default=False,
+            action="store_true",
+            help=("Do not load pillars."),
+        )
         self.add_option(
             "--refresh-grains-cache",
             default=False,