diff --git a/cc/builder.go b/cc/builder.go
index 6b139f4..24c9377 100644
--- a/cc/builder.go
+++ b/cc/builder.go
@@ -260,7 +260,6 @@
 	stripAddGnuDebuglink   bool
 	stripUseGnuStrip       bool
 
-	protoDeps        android.Paths
 	proto            android.ProtoFlags
 	protoC           bool
 	protoOptionsFile bool
diff --git a/cc/cc.go b/cc/cc.go
index 8e55553..0668fd9 100644
--- a/cc/cc.go
+++ b/cc/cc.go
@@ -163,7 +163,6 @@
 	GroupStaticLibs bool
 
 	proto            android.ProtoFlags
-	protoDeps        android.Paths
 	protoC           bool // Whether to use C instead of C++
 	protoOptionsFile bool // Whether to look for a .options file next to the .proto
 }
@@ -1594,6 +1593,10 @@
 			return
 		}
 
+		if depTag == android.ProtoPluginDepTag {
+			return
+		}
+
 		if dep.Target().Os != ctx.Os() {
 			ctx.ModuleErrorf("OS mismatch between %q and %q", ctx.ModuleName(), depName)
 			return
diff --git a/cc/cc_test.go b/cc/cc_test.go
index 8c0bcfe..05d74b9 100644
--- a/cc/cc_test.go
+++ b/cc/cc_test.go
@@ -54,6 +54,7 @@
 func createTestContext(t *testing.T, config android.Config, bp string, os android.OsType) *android.TestContext {
 	ctx := android.NewTestArchContext()
 	ctx.RegisterModuleType("cc_binary", android.ModuleFactoryAdaptor(BinaryFactory))
+	ctx.RegisterModuleType("cc_binary_host", android.ModuleFactoryAdaptor(binaryHostFactory))
 	ctx.RegisterModuleType("cc_library", android.ModuleFactoryAdaptor(LibraryFactory))
 	ctx.RegisterModuleType("cc_library_shared", android.ModuleFactoryAdaptor(LibrarySharedFactory))
 	ctx.RegisterModuleType("cc_library_static", android.ModuleFactoryAdaptor(LibraryStaticFactory))
diff --git a/cc/compiler.go b/cc/compiler.go
index fe46a3c..f9af4d8 100644
--- a/cc/compiler.go
+++ b/cc/compiler.go
@@ -221,6 +221,7 @@
 	deps.GeneratedSources = append(deps.GeneratedSources, compiler.Properties.Generated_sources...)
 	deps.GeneratedHeaders = append(deps.GeneratedHeaders, compiler.Properties.Generated_headers...)
 
+	android.ProtoDeps(ctx, &compiler.Proto)
 	if compiler.hasSrcExt(".proto") {
 		deps = protoDeps(ctx, deps, &compiler.Proto, Bool(compiler.Properties.Proto.Static))
 	}
diff --git a/cc/proto.go b/cc/proto.go
index 5a96ae7..f818edc 100644
--- a/cc/proto.go
+++ b/cc/proto.go
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@
 		headerFile = android.PathForModuleGen(ctx, "proto", pathtools.ReplaceExtension(rel, "pb.h"))
 	}
 
-	protoDeps := flags.protoDeps
+	protoDeps := flags.proto.Deps
 	if flags.protoOptionsFile {
 		optionsFile := pathtools.ReplaceExtension(protoFile.String(), "options")
 		optionsPath := android.PathForSource(ctx, optionsFile)
@@ -59,53 +59,55 @@
 	return ccFile, headerFile
 }
 
-func protoDeps(ctx BaseModuleContext, deps Deps, p *android.ProtoProperties, static bool) Deps {
+func protoDeps(ctx DepsContext, deps Deps, p *android.ProtoProperties, static bool) Deps {
 	var lib string
 
-	switch String(p.Proto.Type) {
-	case "full":
-		if ctx.useSdk() {
-			lib = "libprotobuf-cpp-full-ndk"
+	if String(p.Proto.Plugin) == "" {
+		switch String(p.Proto.Type) {
+		case "full":
+			if ctx.useSdk() {
+				lib = "libprotobuf-cpp-full-ndk"
+				static = true
+			} else {
+				lib = "libprotobuf-cpp-full"
+			}
+		case "lite", "":
+			if ctx.useSdk() {
+				lib = "libprotobuf-cpp-lite-ndk"
+				static = true
+			} else {
+				lib = "libprotobuf-cpp-lite"
+			}
+		case "nanopb-c":
+			lib = "libprotobuf-c-nano"
 			static = true
-		} else {
-			lib = "libprotobuf-cpp-full"
-		}
-	case "lite", "":
-		if ctx.useSdk() {
-			lib = "libprotobuf-cpp-lite-ndk"
+		case "nanopb-c-enable_malloc":
+			lib = "libprotobuf-c-nano-enable_malloc"
 			static = true
-		} else {
-			lib = "libprotobuf-cpp-lite"
+		case "nanopb-c-16bit":
+			lib = "libprotobuf-c-nano-16bit"
+			static = true
+		case "nanopb-c-enable_malloc-16bit":
+			lib = "libprotobuf-c-nano-enable_malloc-16bit"
+			static = true
+		case "nanopb-c-32bit":
+			lib = "libprotobuf-c-nano-32bit"
+			static = true
+		case "nanopb-c-enable_malloc-32bit":
+			lib = "libprotobuf-c-nano-enable_malloc-32bit"
+			static = true
+		default:
+			ctx.PropertyErrorf("proto.type", "unknown proto type %q",
+				String(p.Proto.Type))
 		}
-	case "nanopb-c":
-		lib = "libprotobuf-c-nano"
-		static = true
-	case "nanopb-c-enable_malloc":
-		lib = "libprotobuf-c-nano-enable_malloc"
-		static = true
-	case "nanopb-c-16bit":
-		lib = "libprotobuf-c-nano-16bit"
-		static = true
-	case "nanopb-c-enable_malloc-16bit":
-		lib = "libprotobuf-c-nano-enable_malloc-16bit"
-		static = true
-	case "nanopb-c-32bit":
-		lib = "libprotobuf-c-nano-32bit"
-		static = true
-	case "nanopb-c-enable_malloc-32bit":
-		lib = "libprotobuf-c-nano-enable_malloc-32bit"
-		static = true
-	default:
-		ctx.PropertyErrorf("proto.type", "unknown proto type %q",
-			String(p.Proto.Type))
-	}
 
-	if static {
-		deps.StaticLibs = append(deps.StaticLibs, lib)
-		deps.ReexportStaticLibHeaders = append(deps.ReexportStaticLibHeaders, lib)
-	} else {
-		deps.SharedLibs = append(deps.SharedLibs, lib)
-		deps.ReexportSharedLibHeaders = append(deps.ReexportSharedLibHeaders, lib)
+		if static {
+			deps.StaticLibs = append(deps.StaticLibs, lib)
+			deps.ReexportStaticLibHeaders = append(deps.ReexportStaticLibHeaders, lib)
+		} else {
+			deps.SharedLibs = append(deps.SharedLibs, lib)
+			deps.ReexportSharedLibHeaders = append(deps.ReexportSharedLibHeaders, lib)
+		}
 	}
 
 	return deps
@@ -120,33 +122,35 @@
 	}
 	flags.GlobalFlags = append(flags.GlobalFlags, "-I"+flags.proto.Dir.String())
 
-	var plugin string
+	if String(p.Proto.Plugin) == "" {
+		var plugin string
 
-	switch String(p.Proto.Type) {
-	case "nanopb-c", "nanopb-c-enable_malloc", "nanopb-c-16bit", "nanopb-c-enable_malloc-16bit", "nanopb-c-32bit", "nanopb-c-enable_malloc-32bit":
-		flags.protoC = true
-		flags.protoOptionsFile = true
-		flags.proto.OutTypeFlag = "--nanopb_out"
-		plugin = "protoc-gen-nanopb"
-	case "full":
-		flags.proto.OutTypeFlag = "--cpp_out"
-	case "lite":
-		flags.proto.OutTypeFlag = "--cpp_out"
-		flags.proto.OutParams = append(flags.proto.OutParams, "lite")
-	case "":
-		// TODO(b/119714316): this should be equivalent to "lite" in
-		// order to match protoDeps, but some modules are depending on
-		// this behavior
-		flags.proto.OutTypeFlag = "--cpp_out"
-	default:
-		ctx.PropertyErrorf("proto.type", "unknown proto type %q",
-			String(p.Proto.Type))
-	}
+		switch String(p.Proto.Type) {
+		case "nanopb-c", "nanopb-c-enable_malloc", "nanopb-c-16bit", "nanopb-c-enable_malloc-16bit", "nanopb-c-32bit", "nanopb-c-enable_malloc-32bit":
+			flags.protoC = true
+			flags.protoOptionsFile = true
+			flags.proto.OutTypeFlag = "--nanopb_out"
+			plugin = "protoc-gen-nanopb"
+		case "full":
+			flags.proto.OutTypeFlag = "--cpp_out"
+		case "lite":
+			flags.proto.OutTypeFlag = "--cpp_out"
+			flags.proto.OutParams = append(flags.proto.OutParams, "lite")
+		case "":
+			// TODO(b/119714316): this should be equivalent to "lite" in
+			// order to match protoDeps, but some modules are depending on
+			// this behavior
+			flags.proto.OutTypeFlag = "--cpp_out"
+		default:
+			ctx.PropertyErrorf("proto.type", "unknown proto type %q",
+				String(p.Proto.Type))
+		}
 
-	if plugin != "" {
-		path := ctx.Config().HostToolPath(ctx, plugin)
-		flags.protoDeps = append(flags.protoDeps, path)
-		flags.proto.Flags = append(flags.proto.Flags, "--plugin="+path.String())
+		if plugin != "" {
+			path := ctx.Config().HostToolPath(ctx, plugin)
+			flags.proto.Deps = append(flags.proto.Deps, path)
+			flags.proto.Flags = append(flags.proto.Flags, "--plugin="+path.String())
+		}
 	}
 
 	return flags
diff --git a/cc/proto_test.go b/cc/proto_test.go
index 6fee924..4f0de78 100644
--- a/cc/proto_test.go
+++ b/cc/proto_test.go
@@ -17,6 +17,8 @@
 import (
 	"strings"
 	"testing"
+
+	"android/soong/android"
 )
 
 func TestProto(t *testing.T) {
@@ -33,4 +35,37 @@
 			t.Errorf("expected '--cpp_out' in %q", cmd)
 		}
 	})
+
+	t.Run("plugin", func(t *testing.T) {
+		ctx := testCc(t, `
+		cc_binary_host {
+			name: "protoc-gen-foobar",
+			stl: "none",
+		}
+
+		cc_library_shared {
+			name: "libfoo",
+			srcs: ["a.proto"],
+			proto: {
+				plugin: "foobar",
+			},
+		}`)
+
+		buildOS := android.BuildOs.String()
+
+		proto := ctx.ModuleForTests("libfoo", "android_arm_armv7-a-neon_core_shared").Output("proto/a.pb.cc")
+		foobar := ctx.ModuleForTests("protoc-gen-foobar", buildOS+"_x86_64")
+
+		cmd := proto.RuleParams.Command
+		if w := "--foobar_out="; !strings.Contains(cmd, w) {
+			t.Errorf("expected %q in %q", w, cmd)
+		}
+
+		foobarPath := foobar.Module().(android.HostToolProvider).HostToolPath().String()
+
+		if w := "--plugin=protoc-gen-foobar=" + foobarPath; !strings.Contains(cmd, w) {
+			t.Errorf("expected %q in %q", w, cmd)
+		}
+	})
+
 }
diff --git a/cc/util.go b/cc/util.go
index 30a77a4..5dcbaef 100644
--- a/cc/util.go
+++ b/cc/util.go
@@ -84,7 +84,6 @@
 
 		groupStaticLibs: in.GroupStaticLibs,
 
-		protoDeps:        in.protoDeps,
 		proto:            in.proto,
 		protoC:           in.protoC,
 		protoOptionsFile: in.protoOptionsFile,