diff --git a/lib/jekyll/converters/markdown/redcarpet_parser.rb b/lib/jekyll/converters/markdown/redcarpet_parser.rb
index b7a25c46..ceecd85e 100644
--- a/lib/jekyll/converters/markdown/redcarpet_parser.rb
+++ b/lib/jekyll/converters/markdown/redcarpet_parser.rb
@@ -2,28 +2,57 @@ module Jekyll
   module Converters
     class Markdown
       class RedcarpetParser
+
+        module CommonMethods
+          def add_code_tags(code, lang)
+            code = code.sub(/<pre>/, "<pre><code class=\"#{lang} language-#{lang}\">")
+            code = code.sub(/<\/pre>/,"</code></pre>")
+          end
+        end
+
+        module WithPygments
+          include CommonMethods
+          def block_code(code, lang)
+            require 'pygments'
+            lang = lang && lang.split.first || "text"
+            output = add_code_tags(
+              Pygments.highlight(code, :lexer => lang, :options => { :encoding => 'utf-8' }),
+              lang
+            )
+          end
+        end
+
+        module WithoutPygments
+          require 'cgi'
+
+          include CommonMethods
+
+          def code_wrap(code)
+            "<div class=\"highlight\"><pre>#{CGI::escapeHTML(code)}</pre></div>"
+          end
+
+          def block_code(code, lang)
+            lang = lang && lang.split.first || "text"
+            output = add_code_tags(code_wrap(code), lang)
+          end
+        end
+
         def initialize(config)
           require 'redcarpet'
-          require 'pygments'
           @config = config
           @redcarpet_extensions = {}
           @config['redcarpet']['extensions'].each { |e| @redcarpet_extensions[e.to_sym] = true }
 
-          @renderer ||= Class.new(Redcarpet::Render::HTML) do
-            def block_code(code, lang)
-              lang = lang && lang.split.first || "text"
-              output = add_code_tags(
-                Pygments.highlight(code, :lexer => lang, :options => { :encoding => 'utf-8' }),
-                lang
-              )
-            end
-
-            def add_code_tags(code, lang)
-              code = code.sub(/<pre>/, "<pre><code class=\"#{lang} language-#{lang}\">")
-              code = code.sub(/<\/pre>/,"</code></pre>")
-            end
-          end
-        rescue LoadError
+          @renderer ||= if @config['pygments']
+                          Class.new(Redcarpet::Render::HTML) do
+                            include WithPygments
+                          end
+                        else
+                          Class.new(Redcarpet::Render::HTML) do
+                            include WithoutPygments
+                          end
+                        end
+        rescue LoadErro
           STDERR.puts 'You are missing a library required for Markdown. Please run:'
           STDERR.puts '  $ [sudo] gem install redcarpet'
           raise FatalException.new("Missing dependency: redcarpet")
diff --git a/test/test_redcarpet.rb b/test/test_redcarpet.rb
index 5c7b6da1..ce4cb826 100644
--- a/test/test_redcarpet.rb
+++ b/test/test_redcarpet.rb
@@ -3,11 +3,11 @@ require 'helper'
 class TestRedcarpet < Test::Unit::TestCase
   context "redcarpet" do
     setup do
-      config = {
+      @config = {
         'redcarpet' => { 'extensions' => ['smart', 'strikethrough', 'filter_html'] },
         'markdown' => 'redcarpet'
       }
-      @markdown = Converters::Markdown.new config
+      @markdown = Converters::Markdown.new @config
     end
 
     should "pass redcarpet options" do
@@ -26,14 +26,36 @@ class TestRedcarpet < Test::Unit::TestCase
       assert_equal "<p><strong>bad code not here</strong>: i am bad</p>", @markdown.convert('**bad code not here**: <script>i am bad</script>').strip
     end
 
-    should "render fenced code blocks" do
-      assert_equal "<div class=\"highlight\"><pre><code class=\"ruby language-ruby\"><span class=\"nb\">puts</span> <span class=\"s2\">&quot;Hello world&quot;</span>\n</code></pre></div>", @markdown.convert(
-        <<-EOS
+    context "with pygments enabled" do
+      setup do
+        @markdown = Converters::Markdown.new @config.merge({ 'pygments' => true })
+      end
+      
+      should "render fenced code blocks with syntax highlighting" do
+        assert_equal "<div class=\"highlight\"><pre><code class=\"ruby language-ruby\"><span class=\"nb\">puts</span> <span class=\"s2\">&quot;Hello world&quot;</span>\n</code></pre></div>", @markdown.convert(
+          <<-EOS
 ```ruby
 puts "Hello world"
 ```
-EOS
-      ).strip
+          EOS
+        ).strip
+      end
+    end
+
+    context "with pygments disabled" do
+      setup do
+        @markdown = Converters::Markdown.new @config.merge({ 'pygments' => false })
+      end
+
+      should "render fenced code blocks without syntax highlighting" do
+        assert_equal "<div class=\"highlight\"><pre><code class=\"ruby language-ruby\">puts &quot;Hello world&quot;\n</code></pre></div>", @markdown.convert(
+          <<-EOS
+```ruby
+puts "Hello world"
+```
+          EOS
+        ).strip
+      end
     end
   end
 end