diff --git a/ci/appveyor-cpp-setup.bat b/ci/appveyor-cpp-setup.bat
index 64f930a1613bc..960d1d958105e 100644
--- a/ci/appveyor-cpp-setup.bat
+++ b/ci/appveyor-cpp-setup.bat
@@ -63,6 +63,9 @@ if "%ARROW_BUILD_GANDIVA%" == "ON" (
 )
 @rem Install pre-built "toolchain" packages for faster builds
 set CONDA_PACKAGES=%CONDA_PACKAGES% --file=ci\conda_env_cpp.txt
+@rem Force conda to use conda-forge
+conda config --add channels conda-forge
+conda config --remove channels defaults
 @rem Arrow conda environment
 mamba create -n arrow -q -y -c conda-forge ^
   --file=ci\conda_env_python.txt ^