diff --git a/.changeset/thick-boats-decide.md b/.changeset/thick-boats-decide.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e258962ecd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/thick-boats-decide.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+'@backstage/create-app': patch
+---
+
+Added missing node-gyp dependency to fix Docker image build
diff --git a/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/backend/package.json.hbs b/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/backend/package.json.hbs
index cb358db911..1469271132 100644
--- a/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/backend/package.json.hbs
+++ b/packages/create-app/templates/default-app/packages/backend/package.json.hbs
@@ -39,7 +39,8 @@
     "express": "^4.17.1",
     "express-promise-router": "^4.1.0",
     "pg": "^8.3.0",
-    "winston": "^3.2.1"
+    "winston": "^3.2.1",
+    "node-gyp": "^9.0.0"
   },
   "devDependencies": {
     "@backstage/cli": "^{{version '@backstage/cli'}}",