diff --git a/lib/sassc/engine.rb b/lib/sassc/engine.rb
index 5b0c8032..1e040753 100644
--- a/lib/sassc/engine.rb
+++ b/lib/sassc/engine.rb
@@ -17,6 +17,8 @@ def initialize(template, options = {})
     end
 
     def render
+      return @template if @template.empty?
+
       data_context = Native.make_data_context(@template)
       context = Native.data_context_get_context(data_context)
       native_options = Native.context_get_options(context)
diff --git a/test/engine_test.rb b/test/engine_test.rb
index 1b325096..612a6a15 100644
--- a/test/engine_test.rb
+++ b/test/engine_test.rb
@@ -189,5 +189,10 @@ def test_inline_source_maps
       assert_match /sourceMappingURL/, output
       assert_match /.foo/, output
     end
+
+    def test_empty_template
+      output = Engine.new('').render
+      assert_equal '', output
+    end
   end
 end