diff --git a/ReactAndroid/build.gradle b/ReactAndroid/build.gradle
index 41f7a3ce8be411..a45fec99d9543f 100644
--- a/ReactAndroid/build.gradle
+++ b/ReactAndroid/build.gradle
@@ -252,10 +252,13 @@ android {
     buildToolsVersion = "31.0.0"
     compileSdkVersion 31
 
-    // Used to override the NDK path & version on internal CI
-    if (System.getenv("ANDROID_NDK") != null && System.getenv("LOCAL_ANDROID_NDK_VERSION") != null) {
-        ndkPath System.getenv("ANDROID_NDK")
-        ndkVersion System.getenv("LOCAL_ANDROID_NDK_VERSION")
+    // Used to override the NDK path/version on internal CI or by allowing
+    // users to customize the NDK path/version from their root project (e.g. for M1 support)
+    if (rootProject.hasProperty("ndkPath")) {
+        ndkPath rootProject.ext.ndkPath
+    }
+    if (rootProject.hasProperty("ndkVersion")) {
+        ndkVersion rootProject.ext.ndkVersion
     }
 
     defaultConfig {
diff --git a/build.gradle.kts b/build.gradle.kts
index f13293a41455ca..1b3cd9c89e5431 100644
--- a/build.gradle.kts
+++ b/build.gradle.kts
@@ -5,6 +5,9 @@
  * LICENSE file in the root directory of this source tree.
  */
 
+val ndkPath by extra(System.getenv("ANDROID_NDK"))
+val ndkVersion by extra(System.getenv("ANDROID_NDK_VERSION"))
+
 buildscript {
     repositories {
         google()
diff --git a/packages/rn-tester/android/app/build.gradle b/packages/rn-tester/android/app/build.gradle
index 6100303bc10a57..ae8e5699094fec 100644
--- a/packages/rn-tester/android/app/build.gradle
+++ b/packages/rn-tester/android/app/build.gradle
@@ -146,10 +146,13 @@ android {
     buildToolsVersion = "31.0.0"
     compileSdkVersion 31
 
-    // Used to override the NDK path & version on internal CI
-    if (System.getenv("ANDROID_NDK") != null && System.getenv("LOCAL_ANDROID_NDK_VERSION") != null) {
-        ndkPath System.getenv("ANDROID_NDK")
-        ndkVersion System.getenv("LOCAL_ANDROID_NDK_VERSION")
+    // Used to override the NDK path/version on internal CI or by allowing
+    // users to customize the NDK path/version from their root project (e.g. for M1 support)
+    if (rootProject.hasProperty("ndkPath")) {
+        ndkPath rootProject.ext.ndkPath
+    }
+    if (rootProject.hasProperty("ndkVersion")) {
+        ndkVersion rootProject.ext.ndkVersion
     }
 
     flavorDimensions "vm"
diff --git a/template/android/build.gradle b/template/android/build.gradle
index 5e77be4eaf4c98..c6fa898beaac63 100644
--- a/template/android/build.gradle
+++ b/template/android/build.gradle
@@ -6,7 +6,13 @@ buildscript {
         minSdkVersion = 21
         compileSdkVersion = 31
         targetSdkVersion = 31
-        ndkVersion = "21.4.7075529"
+        // For M1 Users we need to use the NDK 24, otherwise we default to the
+        // side-by-side NDK version from AGP.
+        if (System.properties['os.arch'] == "aarch64") {
+            ndkVersion = "24.0.8215888"
+        } else {
+            ndkVersion = "21.4.7075529"
+        }
     }
     repositories {
         google()