diff --git a/pkg/recipe/recipe.go b/pkg/recipe/recipe.go
index 057d3487..154f0cba 100644
--- a/pkg/recipe/recipe.go
+++ b/pkg/recipe/recipe.go
@@ -169,6 +169,15 @@ func EnsureVersion(recipeName, version string) error {
 func EnsureLatest(recipeName string) error {
 	recipeDir := path.Join(config.ABRA_DIR, "apps", recipeName)
 
+	isClean, err := gitPkg.IsClean(recipeName)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
+	if !isClean {
+		return fmt.Errorf("'%s' has locally unstaged changes", recipeName)
+	}
+
 	logrus.Debugf("attempting to open git repository in '%s'", recipeDir)
 
 	repo, err := git.PlainOpen(recipeDir)