diff --git a/packages/cli-platform-apple/src/commands/buildCommand/createBuild.ts b/packages/cli-platform-apple/src/commands/buildCommand/createBuild.ts
index 3e06b6c10..795c6bb07 100644
--- a/packages/cli-platform-apple/src/commands/buildCommand/createBuild.ts
+++ b/packages/cli-platform-apple/src/commands/buildCommand/createBuild.ts
@@ -27,10 +27,16 @@ const createBuild =
         ? await getArchitecture(platformConfig.sourceDir)
         : undefined;
 
-      await resolvePods(ctx.root, ctx.dependencies, platformName, {
-        forceInstall: args.forcePods,
-        newArchEnabled: isAppRunningNewArchitecture,
-      });
+      await resolvePods(
+        ctx.root,
+        platformConfig.sourceDir,
+        ctx.dependencies,
+        platformName,
+        {
+          forceInstall: args.forcePods,
+          newArchEnabled: isAppRunningNewArchitecture,
+        },
+      );
 
       installedPods = true;
     }
diff --git a/packages/cli-platform-apple/src/commands/runCommand/createRun.ts b/packages/cli-platform-apple/src/commands/runCommand/createRun.ts
index 486b9ebf5..62525725b 100644
--- a/packages/cli-platform-apple/src/commands/runCommand/createRun.ts
+++ b/packages/cli-platform-apple/src/commands/runCommand/createRun.ts
@@ -72,10 +72,16 @@ const createRun =
         ? await getArchitecture(platformConfig.sourceDir)
         : undefined;
 
-      await resolvePods(ctx.root, ctx.dependencies, platformName, {
-        forceInstall: args.forcePods,
-        newArchEnabled: isAppRunningNewArchitecture,
-      });
+      await resolvePods(
+        ctx.root,
+        platformConfig.sourceDir,
+        ctx.dependencies,
+        platformName,
+        {
+          forceInstall: args.forcePods,
+          newArchEnabled: isAppRunningNewArchitecture,
+        },
+      );
 
       installedPods = true;
     }
diff --git a/packages/cli-platform-apple/src/tools/pods.ts b/packages/cli-platform-apple/src/tools/pods.ts
index 2895c3d9f..16239eb3a 100644
--- a/packages/cli-platform-apple/src/tools/pods.ts
+++ b/packages/cli-platform-apple/src/tools/pods.ts
@@ -8,7 +8,6 @@ import {
   getLoader,
 } from '@react-native-community/cli-tools';
 import installPods from './installPods';
-import findPodfilePath from '../config/findPodfilePath';
 import {
   DependencyConfig,
   IOSDependencyConfig,
@@ -61,7 +60,7 @@ export function generateMd5Hash(text: string) {
   return createHash('md5').update(text).digest('hex');
 }
 
-export function compareMd5Hashes(hash1: string, hash2: string) {
+export function compareMd5Hashes(hash1?: string, hash2?: string) {
   return hash1 === hash2;
 }
 
@@ -91,12 +90,15 @@ async function install(
 
 export default async function resolvePods(
   root: string,
+  sourceDir: string,
   nativeDependencies: NativeDependencies,
   platformName: ApplePlatform,
   options?: ResolvePodsOptions,
 ) {
   const packageJson = getPackageJson(root);
-  const podfilePath = findPodfilePath(root, platformName);
+  const podfilePath = path.join(sourceDir, 'Podfile'); // sourceDir is calculated based on Podfile location, see getProjectConfig()
+
+  const podfileLockPath = path.join(sourceDir, 'Podfile.lock');
   const platformFolderPath = podfilePath
     ? podfilePath.slice(0, podfilePath.lastIndexOf('/'))
     : path.join(root, platformName);
@@ -108,11 +110,30 @@ export default async function resolvePods(
   );
   const dependenciesString = dependenciesToString(platformDependencies);
   const currentDependenciesHash = generateMd5Hash(dependenciesString);
+  // Users can manually add dependencies to Podfile, so we can entirely rely on `dependencies` from `config`'s output.
+  const currentPodfileHash = fs.existsSync(podfilePath)
+    ? generateMd5Hash(fs.readFileSync(podfilePath, 'utf8'))
+    : undefined;
+  const currentPodfileLockHash = fs.existsSync(podfileLockPath)
+    ? generateMd5Hash(fs.readFileSync(podfileLockPath, 'utf8'))
+    : undefined;
+
+  const cachedPodfileHash = cacheManager.get(packageJson.name, 'podfile');
+  const cachedPodfileLockHash = cacheManager.get(
+    packageJson.name,
+    'podfileLock',
+  );
+
   const cachedDependenciesHash = cacheManager.get(
     packageJson.name,
     'dependencies',
   );
 
+  const isCacheValid =
+    cachedDependenciesHash === undefined &&
+    cachedPodfileHash === undefined &&
+    cachedPodfileLockHash === undefined;
+
   if (options?.forceInstall) {
     await install(
       packageJson,
@@ -120,11 +141,13 @@ export default async function resolvePods(
       currentDependenciesHash,
       platformFolderPath,
     );
-  } else if (arePodsInstalled && cachedDependenciesHash === undefined) {
+  } else if (arePodsInstalled && isCacheValid) {
     cacheManager.set(packageJson.name, 'dependencies', currentDependenciesHash);
   } else if (
-    !cachedDependenciesHash ||
+    !isCacheValid ||
     !compareMd5Hashes(currentDependenciesHash, cachedDependenciesHash) ||
+    !compareMd5Hashes(currentPodfileHash, cachedPodfileHash) ||
+    !compareMd5Hashes(currentPodfileLockHash, cachedPodfileLockHash) ||
     !arePodsInstalled
   ) {
     const loader = getLoader('Installing CocoaPods...');
diff --git a/packages/cli-tools/src/cacheManager.ts b/packages/cli-tools/src/cacheManager.ts
index 227eb674a..dbcf48afe 100644
--- a/packages/cli-tools/src/cacheManager.ts
+++ b/packages/cli-tools/src/cacheManager.ts
@@ -10,6 +10,8 @@ type CacheKey =
   | 'lastChecked'
   | 'latestVersion'
   | 'dependencies'
+  | 'podfile'
+  | 'podfileLock'
   | 'lastUsedIOSDeviceId';
 type Cache = {[key in CacheKey]?: string};