diff --git a/builtin/providers/aws/resource_aws_autoscaling_group.go b/builtin/providers/aws/resource_aws_autoscaling_group.go
index e6d62b61a..43926f103 100644
--- a/builtin/providers/aws/resource_aws_autoscaling_group.go
+++ b/builtin/providers/aws/resource_aws_autoscaling_group.go
@@ -119,6 +119,25 @@ func resourceAwsAutoscalingGroup() *schema.Resource {
 				Set:      schema.HashString,
 			},
 
+			"wait_for_capacity_timeout": &schema.Schema{
+				Type:     schema.TypeString,
+				Optional: true,
+				Default:  "10m",
+				ValidateFunc: func(v interface{}, k string) (ws []string, errors []error) {
+					value := v.(string)
+					duration, err := time.ParseDuration(value)
+					if err != nil {
+						errors = append(errors, fmt.Errorf(
+							"%q cannot be parsed as a duration: %s", k, err))
+					}
+					if duration < 0 {
+						errors = append(errors, fmt.Errorf(
+							"%q must be greater than zero", k))
+					}
+					return
+				},
+			},
+
 			"tag": autoscalingTagsSchema(),
 		},
 	}
@@ -443,8 +462,6 @@ func resourceAwsAutoscalingGroupDrain(d *schema.ResourceData, meta interface{})
 	})
 }
 
-var waitForASGCapacityTimeout = 10 * time.Minute
-
 // Waits for a minimum number of healthy instances to show up as healthy in the
 // ASG before continuing. Waits up to `waitForASGCapacityTimeout` for
 // "desired_capacity", or "min_size" if desired capacity is not specified.
@@ -459,9 +476,20 @@ func waitForASGCapacity(d *schema.ResourceData, meta interface{}) error {
 	}
 	wantELB := d.Get("min_elb_capacity").(int)
 
-	log.Printf("[DEBUG] Waiting for capacity: %d ASG, %d ELB", wantASG, wantELB)
+	wait, err := time.ParseDuration(d.Get("wait_for_capacity_timeout").(string))
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
 
-	return resource.Retry(waitForASGCapacityTimeout, func() error {
+	if wait == 0 {
+		log.Printf("[DEBUG] Capacity timeout set to 0, skipping capacity waiting.")
+		return nil
+	}
+
+	log.Printf("[DEBUG] Waiting %s for capacity: %d ASG, %d ELB",
+		wait, wantASG, wantELB)
+
+	return resource.Retry(wait, func() error {
 		g, err := getAwsAutoscalingGroup(d, meta)
 		if err != nil {
 			return resource.RetryError{Err: err}
diff --git a/website/source/docs/providers/aws/r/autoscaling_group.html.markdown b/website/source/docs/providers/aws/r/autoscaling_group.html.markdown
index 40831e99a..1c7641a2d 100644
--- a/website/source/docs/providers/aws/r/autoscaling_group.html.markdown
+++ b/website/source/docs/providers/aws/r/autoscaling_group.html.markdown
@@ -66,6 +66,11 @@ The following arguments are supported:
 * `vpc_zone_identifier` (Optional) A list of subnet IDs to launch resources in.
 * `termination_policies` (Optional) A list of policies to decide how the instances in the auto scale group should be terminated.
 * `tag` (Optional) A list of tag blocks. Tags documented below.
+* `wait_for_capacity_timeout` (Default: "10m") A maximum
+  [duration](https://golang.org/pkg/time/#ParseDuration) that Terraform should
+  wait for ASG instances to be healthy before timing out.  (See also [Waiting
+  for Capacity](#waiting-for-capacity) below.) Setting this to "0" causes
+  Terraform to skip all Capacity Waiting behavior.
 
 Tags support the following:
 
@@ -113,9 +118,12 @@ Terraform considers an instance "healthy" when the ASG reports `HealthStatus:
 Docs](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AutoScaling/latest/DeveloperGuide/AutoScalingGroupLifecycle.html)
 for more information on an ASG's lifecycle.
 
-Terraform will wait for healthy instances for up to 10 minutes. If ASG creation
-is taking more than a few minutes, it's worth investigating for scaling activity
-errors, which can be caused by problems with the selected Launch Configuration.
+Terraform will wait for healthy instances for up to
+`wait_for_capacity_timeout`. If ASG creation is taking more than a few minutes,
+it's worth investigating for scaling activity errors, which can be caused by
+problems with the selected Launch Configuration.
+
+Setting `wait_for_capacity_timeout` to `"0"` disables ASG Capacity waiting.
 
 #### Waiting for ELB Capacity
 
@@ -124,8 +132,9 @@ Balancers. If `min_elb_capacity` is set, Terraform will wait for that number of
 Instances to be `"InService"` in all attached `load_balancers`. This can be
 used to ensure that service is being provided before Terraform moves on.
 
-As with ASG Capacity, Terraform will wait for up to 10 minutes for
-`"InService"` instances. If ASG creation takes more than a few minutes, this
-could indicate one of a number of configuration problems. See the [AWS Docs on
-Load Balancer Troubleshooting](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/ElasticLoadBalancing/latest/DeveloperGuide/elb-troubleshooting.html)
+As with ASG Capacity, Terraform will wait for up to `wait_for_capacity_timeout`
+(for `"InService"` instances. If ASG creation takes more than a few minutes,
+this could indicate one of a number of configuration problems. See the [AWS
+Docs on Load Balancer
+Troubleshooting](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/ElasticLoadBalancing/latest/DeveloperGuide/elb-troubleshooting.html)
 for more information.