diff --git a/mustache.js b/mustache.js
index 641cebd57..9c61671f7 100644
--- a/mustache.js
+++ b/mustache.js
@@ -476,7 +476,7 @@ var Mustache = (typeof module !== "undefined" && module.exports) || {};
     // This anonymous function wraps the generated function so we can do
     // argument coercion, setup some variables, and handle any errors
     // encountered while executing it.
-    return function (view, partials) {
+    var template = function (view, partials) {
       partials = partials || {};
 
       var stack = [view]; // context stack
@@ -487,6 +487,8 @@ var Mustache = (typeof module !== "undefined" && module.exports) || {};
         throw debug(e.error, template, e.line, options.file);
       }
     };
+    template.compiled = true;
+    return template;
   }
 
   // Cache of pre-compiled templates.
@@ -511,6 +513,10 @@ var Mustache = (typeof module !== "undefined" && module.exports) || {};
   function compile(template, options) {
     options = options || {};
 
+    if (typeof template === "function" && template.compiled) {
+      return template;
+    }
+
     // Use a pre-compiled version from the cache if we have one.
     if (options.cache !== false) {
       if (!_cache[template]) {