diff --git a/pkg/compiler/compiler.go b/pkg/compiler/compiler.go
index 09e2e369..189e9f93 100644
--- a/pkg/compiler/compiler.go
+++ b/pkg/compiler/compiler.go
@@ -528,9 +528,9 @@ func (cs *LuetCompiler) compileWithImage(image, buildertaggedImage, packageImage
 	p CompilationSpec, generateArtifact bool) (Artifact, error) {
 
 	// If it is a virtual, check if we have to generate an empty artifact or not.
-	if generateArtifact && p.EmptyPackage() {
+	if generateArtifact && p.EmptyPackage() && !p.HasImageSource() {
 		return cs.genArtifact(p, CompilerBackendOptions{}, CompilerBackendOptions{}, concurrency, keepPermissions)
-	} else if p.EmptyPackage() {
+	} else if p.EmptyPackage() && !p.HasImageSource() {
 		return &PackageArtifact{}, nil
 	}
 
diff --git a/tests/integration/25_virtuals.sh b/tests/integration/25_virtuals.sh
index 8aecc7f3..a8847541 100755
--- a/tests/integration/25_virtuals.sh
+++ b/tests/integration/25_virtuals.sh
@@ -23,18 +23,34 @@ testBuildB() {
     mkdir $tmpdir/testbuild2
     luet build --tree "$ROOT_DIR/tests/fixtures/virtuals"  --debug --compression "gzip" --destination $tmpdir/testbuild2 test/b
     buildst=$?
-    assertEquals 'builds successfully' "$buildst" "0"
-    assertTrue 'create package A 1.0' "[ -e '$tmpdir/testbuild2/a-test-1.0.package.tar.gz' ]"
-    assertTrue 'create package A 1.0' "[ -e '$tmpdir/testbuild2/a-test-1.0.metadata.yaml' ]"
-    assertTrue 'create package B 1.0' "[ -e '$tmpdir/testbuild2/b-test-1.0.package.tar.gz' ]"
-    assertTrue 'create package B 1.0' "[ -e '$tmpdir/testbuild2/b-test-1.0.metadata.yaml' ]"
+    assertEquals 'builds of B expected to fail. It depends on a virtual' "$buildst" "1"
 }
 
 testBuildC() {
     mkdir $tmpdir/testbuild3
-    luet build --tree "$ROOT_DIR/tests/fixtures/virtuals"  --debug --destination $tmpdir/testbuild3 test/c
+    luet build --tree "$ROOT_DIR/tests/fixtures/virtuals"  --debug --compression "gzip" --destination $tmpdir/testbuild3 test/c
     buildst=$?
-    assertEquals 'builds of C expected to fail' "$buildst" "1"
+    assertEquals 'builds of C expected to fail. Steps with no source image' "$buildst" "1"
+}
+
+testBuildImage() {
+    mkdir $tmpdir/testbuild4
+    luet build --tree "$ROOT_DIR/tests/fixtures/virtuals"  --debug --compression "gzip"  --destination $tmpdir/testbuild4 test/image
+    buildst=$?
+    assertEquals 'builds of test/image expected to succeed' "$buildst" "0"
+    assertTrue 'create package test/image 1.0' "[ -e '$tmpdir/testbuild4/image-test-1.0.package.tar.gz' ]"
+    assertTrue 'create package test/image 1.0' "[ -e '$tmpdir/testbuild4/image-test-1.0.metadata.yaml' ]"
+}
+
+testBuildVirtual() {
+    mkdir $tmpdir/testbuild5
+    luet build --tree "$ROOT_DIR/tests/fixtures/virtuals"  --debug --compression "gzip" --destination $tmpdir/testbuild5 test/virtual
+    buildst=$?
+    assertEquals 'builds of test/virtual expected to succeed' "$buildst" "0"
+    assertTrue 'create package test/image 1.0' "[ -e '$tmpdir/testbuild5/image-test-1.0.package.tar.gz' ]"
+    assertTrue 'create package test/image 1.0' "[ -e '$tmpdir/testbuild5/image-test-1.0.metadata.yaml' ]"
+    assertTrue 'create package test/virtual 1.0' "[ -e '$tmpdir/testbuild5/virtual-test-1.0.package.tar.gz' ]"
+    assertTrue 'create package test/virtual 1.0' "[ -e '$tmpdir/testbuild5/virtual-test-1.0.metadata.yaml' ]"
 }
 
 # Load shUnit2.