diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 647108848a0..22671cd4905 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -65,6 +65,7 @@ GO_LDFLAGS_darwin =" $(GO_LDFLAGS)  -extldflags \"$(LDFLAGS_darwin)\""
 GO_LDFLAGS_linux =" $(GO_LDFLAGS)  -extldflags \"$(LDFLAGS_linux)\""
 
 GO_FILES := $(shell find . -type f -name '*.go' -not -path "./vendor/*")
+DEPS_DIGEST := $(shell ./hack/skaffold-deps-sha1.sh)
 
 $(BUILD_DIR)/$(PROJECT): $(BUILD_DIR)/$(PROJECT)-$(GOOS)-$(GOARCH)
 	cp $(BUILD_DIR)/$(PROJECT)-$(GOOS)-$(GOARCH) $@
@@ -73,11 +74,14 @@ $(BUILD_DIR)/$(PROJECT)-$(GOOS)-$(GOARCH): generate-statik $(GO_FILES) $(BUILD_D
 	GOOS=$(GOOS) GOARCH=$(GOARCH) CGO_ENABLED=1 go build -tags $(GO_BUILD_TAGS_$(GOOS)) -ldflags $(GO_LDFLAGS_$(GOOS)) -gcflags $(GO_GCFLAGS) -asmflags $(GO_ASMFLAGS) -o $@ $(BUILD_PACKAGE)
 
 $(BUILD_DIR)/$(PROJECT)-%-$(GOARCH): generate-statik $(GO_FILES) $(BUILD_DIR)
-	docker build --build-arg PROJECT=$(REPOPATH) \
+	docker build \
+		--build-arg PROJECT=$(REPOPATH) \
 		--build-arg TARGETS=$*/$(GOARCH) \
 		--build-arg FLAG_LDFLAGS=$(GO_LDFLAGS_$(*)) \
 		--build-arg FLAG_TAGS=$(GO_BUILD_TAGS_$(*)) \
-		-f deploy/cross/Dockerfile -t skaffold/cross .
+		-f deploy/cross/Dockerfile \
+		-t skaffold/cross \
+		.
 	docker run --rm --entrypoint sh skaffold/cross -c "cat /build/skaffold*" > $@
 
 %.sha256: %
@@ -133,11 +137,12 @@ endif
 .PHONY: release
 release: cross $(BUILD_DIR)/VERSION
 	docker build \
-		-f deploy/skaffold/Dockerfile \
-		--cache-from gcr.io/$(GCP_PROJECT)/skaffold-builder \
 		--build-arg VERSION=$(VERSION) \
+		-f deploy/skaffold/Dockerfile \
+		--target release \
 		-t gcr.io/$(GCP_PROJECT)/skaffold:latest \
-		-t gcr.io/$(GCP_PROJECT)/skaffold:$(VERSION) .
+		-t gcr.io/$(GCP_PROJECT)/skaffold:$(VERSION) \
+		.
 	gsutil -m cp $(BUILD_DIR)/$(PROJECT)-* $(GSC_RELEASE_PATH)/
 	gsutil -m cp $(BUILD_DIR)/VERSION $(GSC_RELEASE_PATH)/VERSION
 	gsutil -m cp -r $(GSC_RELEASE_PATH)/* $(GSC_RELEASE_LATEST)
@@ -146,9 +151,10 @@ release: cross $(BUILD_DIR)/VERSION
 release-build: cross
 	docker build \
 		-f deploy/skaffold/Dockerfile \
-		--cache-from gcr.io/$(GCP_PROJECT)/skaffold-builder \
+		--target release \
 		-t gcr.io/$(GCP_PROJECT)/skaffold:edge \
-		-t gcr.io/$(GCP_PROJECT)/skaffold:$(COMMIT) .
+		-t gcr.io/$(GCP_PROJECT)/skaffold:$(COMMIT) \
+		.
 	gsutil -m cp $(BUILD_DIR)/$(PROJECT)-* $(GSC_BUILD_PATH)/
 	gsutil -m cp -r $(GSC_BUILD_PATH)/* $(GSC_BUILD_LATEST)
 
@@ -156,12 +162,22 @@ release-build: cross
 clean:
 	rm -rf $(BUILD_DIR) hack/bin
 
+.PHONY: build_deps
+build_deps:
+	docker build \
+		-f deploy/skaffold/Dockerfile.deps \
+		-t gcr.io/$(GCP_PROJECT)/build_deps:$(DEPS_DIGEST) \
+		deploy/skaffold
+	docker push gcr.io/$(GCP_PROJECT)/build_deps:$(DEPS_DIGEST)
+	@./hack/check-skaffold-builder.sh
+
 .PHONY: skaffold-builder
 skaffold-builder:
 	time docker build \
 		-f deploy/skaffold/Dockerfile \
 		--target builder \
-		-t gcr.io/$(GCP_PROJECT)/skaffold-builder .
+		-t gcr.io/$(GCP_PROJECT)/skaffold-builder \
+		.
 
 .PHONY: integration-in-kind
 integration-in-kind: skaffold-builder
diff --git a/deploy/cloudbuild-release.yaml b/deploy/cloudbuild-release.yaml
index 94541bbd508..0564619dce2 100644
--- a/deploy/cloudbuild-release.yaml
+++ b/deploy/cloudbuild-release.yaml
@@ -1,17 +1,6 @@
 # using default substitutions, provided by Google Cloud Build
 # see: https://cloud.google.com/container-builder/docs/configuring-builds/substitute-variable-values#using_default_substitutions
 steps:
-
-# Download the latest version of the builder image
-  - name: 'gcr.io/cloud-builders/docker'
-    entrypoint: 'bash'
-    args:
-    - '-c'
-    - |
-      docker pull gcr.io/$PROJECT_ID/skaffold-builder:latest || exit 0
-# until https://github.com/GoogleCloudPlatform/cloud-builders/issues/253 is fixed
-
-# Rebuild the builder image if necessary
   - name: 'gcr.io/cloud-builders/docker'
     args:
     - 'build'
@@ -19,10 +8,6 @@ steps:
     - 'gcr.io/$PROJECT_ID/skaffold-builder:latest'
     - '-f'
     - 'deploy/skaffold/Dockerfile'
-    - '--cache-from'
-    - 'gcr.io/$PROJECT_ID/skaffold-builder:latest'
-    - '--target'
-    - 'builder'
     - '.'
 
 # Do the go build & push the results to GCS
@@ -35,8 +20,13 @@ steps:
     - 'RELEASE_BUCKET=$_RELEASE_BUCKET'
     - 'GCP_PROJECT=$PROJECT_ID'
 
+# Check that skaffold is in the image
+  - name: 'gcr.io/$PROJECT_ID/skaffold:latest'
+    args:
+    - 'skaffold'
+    - 'version'
+
 images:
-- 'gcr.io/$PROJECT_ID/skaffold-builder:latest'
 - 'gcr.io/$PROJECT_ID/skaffold:latest'
 - 'gcr.io/$PROJECT_ID/skaffold:$TAG_NAME'
 
diff --git a/deploy/cloudbuild.yaml b/deploy/cloudbuild.yaml
index 3111bd999ed..379ff01e8be 100644
--- a/deploy/cloudbuild.yaml
+++ b/deploy/cloudbuild.yaml
@@ -1,17 +1,6 @@
 # using default substitutions, provided by Google Cloud Build
 # see: https://cloud.google.com/container-builder/docs/configuring-builds/substitute-variable-values#using_default_substitutions
 steps:
-
-# Download the latest version of the builder image
-  - name: 'gcr.io/cloud-builders/docker'
-    entrypoint: 'bash'
-    args:
-    - '-c'
-    - |
-      docker pull gcr.io/$PROJECT_ID/skaffold-builder:latest || exit 0
-# until https://github.com/GoogleCloudPlatform/cloud-builders/issues/253 is fixed
-
-# Rebuild the builder image if necessary
   - name: 'gcr.io/cloud-builders/docker'
     args:
     - 'build'
@@ -19,10 +8,6 @@ steps:
     - 'gcr.io/$PROJECT_ID/skaffold-builder:latest'
     - '-f'
     - 'deploy/skaffold/Dockerfile'
-    - '--cache-from'
-    - 'gcr.io/$PROJECT_ID/skaffold-builder:latest'
-    - '--target'
-    - 'builder'
     - '.'
 
 # Do the go build & push the results to GCS
@@ -34,8 +19,13 @@ steps:
     - 'RELEASE_BUCKET=$_RELEASE_BUCKET'
     - 'GCP_PROJECT=$PROJECT_ID'
 
+# Check that skaffold is in the image
+  - name: 'gcr.io/$PROJECT_ID/skaffold:edge'
+    args:
+    - 'skaffold'
+    - 'version'
+
 images:
-- 'gcr.io/$PROJECT_ID/skaffold-builder:latest'
 - 'gcr.io/$PROJECT_ID/skaffold:edge'
 - 'gcr.io/$PROJECT_ID/skaffold:$COMMIT_SHA'
 
diff --git a/deploy/skaffold/Dockerfile b/deploy/skaffold/Dockerfile
index c272b7f0fb5..8906341c250 100644
--- a/deploy/skaffold/Dockerfile
+++ b/deploy/skaffold/Dockerfile
@@ -12,109 +12,12 @@
 # See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 # limitations under the License.
 
-# Download kubectl
-FROM alpine:3.10 as download-kubectl
-ENV KUBECTL_VERSION v1.12.8
-ENV KUBECTL_URL https://storage.googleapis.com/kubernetes-release/release/${KUBECTL_VERSION}/bin/linux/amd64/kubectl
-RUN wget -O kubectl "${KUBECTL_URL}"
-RUN chmod +x kubectl
-
-# Download helm
-FROM alpine:3.10 as download-helm
-ENV HELM_VERSION v2.12.0
-ENV HELM_URL https://storage.googleapis.com/kubernetes-helm/helm-${HELM_VERSION}-linux-amd64.tar.gz
-RUN wget -O helm.tar.gz "${HELM_URL}"
-RUN tar -xvf helm.tar.gz --strip-components 1
-
-# Download kustomize
-FROM alpine:3.10 as download-kustomize
-ENV KUSTOMIZE_VERSION 2.1.0
-ENV KUSTOMIZE_URL https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/kustomize/releases/download/v${KUSTOMIZE_VERSION}/kustomize_${KUSTOMIZE_VERSION}_linux_amd64
-RUN wget -O kustomize "${KUSTOMIZE_URL}"
-RUN chmod +x kustomize
-
-# Download kompose
-FROM alpine:3.10 as download-kompose
-ENV KOMPOSE_VERSION v1.19.0
-ENV KOMPOSE_URL https://github.com/kubernetes/kompose/releases/download/${KOMPOSE_VERSION}/kompose-linux-amd64
-RUN wget -O kompose "${KOMPOSE_URL}"
-RUN chmod +x kompose
-
-# Download container-structure-test
-FROM alpine:3.10 as download-container-structure-test
-ENV CONTAINER_STRUCTURE_TEST_VERSION v1.5.0
-ENV CONTAINER_STRUCTURE_TEST_URL https://storage.googleapis.com/container-structure-test/${CONTAINER_STRUCTURE_TEST_VERSION}/container-structure-test-linux-amd64
-RUN wget -O container-structure-test "${CONTAINER_STRUCTURE_TEST_URL}"
-RUN chmod +x container-structure-test
-
-# Download kind
-FROM alpine:3.10 as download-kind
-ENV KIND_VERSION v0.7.0
-ENV KIND_URL https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/kind/releases/download/${KIND_VERSION}/kind-linux-amd64
-RUN wget -O kind "${KIND_URL}"
-RUN chmod +x kind
-
-# Download gcloud
-FROM alpine:3.10 as download-gcloud
-ENV GCLOUD_VERSION 274.0.0
-ENV GCLOUD_URL https://dl.google.com/dl/cloudsdk/channels/rapid/downloads/google-cloud-sdk-${GCLOUD_VERSION}-linux-x86_64.tar.gz
-RUN wget -O gcloud.tar.gz "${GCLOUD_URL}"
-RUN tar -zxf gcloud.tar.gz
-
-# Download bazel
-FROM alpine:3.10 as download-bazel
-ENV BAZEL_VERSION 2.0.0
-ENV BAZEL_URL https://github.com/bazelbuild/bazel/releases/download/${BAZEL_VERSION}/bazel-${BAZEL_VERSION}-linux-x86_64
-RUN wget -O bazel "${BAZEL_URL}"
-RUN chmod +x bazel
-
-FROM gcr.io/gcp-runtimes/ubuntu_16_0_4 as runtime_deps
-
-RUN apt-get update && \
-    apt-get install --no-install-recommends --no-install-suggests -y \
-    git python unzip && \
-    rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
-
-COPY --from=docker:18.09.6 /usr/local/bin/docker /usr/local/bin/
-COPY --from=download-kubectl kubectl /usr/local/bin/
-COPY --from=download-helm helm /usr/local/bin/
-COPY --from=download-kustomize kustomize /usr/local/bin/
-COPY --from=download-kompose kompose /usr/local/bin/
-COPY --from=download-container-structure-test container-structure-test /usr/local/bin/
-COPY --from=download-bazel bazel /usr/local/bin/
-COPY --from=download-gcloud google-cloud-sdk/ /google-cloud-sdk/
-COPY --from=download-kind kind /usr/local/bin/
-
-# Finish installation of bazel
-RUN bazel version
-
-# Finish installation of gcloud
-RUN CLOUDSDK_PYTHON="python2.7" /google-cloud-sdk/install.sh \
-    --usage-reporting=false \
-    --bash-completion=false \
-    --disable-installation-options
-ENV PATH=$PATH:/google-cloud-sdk/bin
-RUN gcloud auth configure-docker
-
-FROM runtime_deps as builder
-RUN apt-get update && apt-get install --no-install-recommends --no-install-suggests -y \
-    build-essential \
-    python-setuptools \
-    lsb-release \
-    openjdk-8-jdk \
-    software-properties-common \
-    jq \
-    apt-transport-https && \
-    rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
-COPY --from=golang:1.13 /usr/local/go /usr/local/go
-ENV PATH /usr/local/go/bin:/root/go/bin:$PATH
+# This base image has to be updated manually after running `make build_deps`
+FROM gcr.io/k8s-skaffold/build_deps:0c78248757f1753c4c64a791160d5e2fdd35f157 as builder
 WORKDIR /skaffold
 COPY . .
 
-FROM builder as build-skaffold
+FROM builder as release
 ARG VERSION
 RUN make clean && make out/skaffold-linux-amd64 VERSION=$VERSION && mv out/skaffold-linux-amd64 /usr/bin/skaffold
-
-FROM runtime_deps as distribution
-COPY --from=build-skaffold /usr/bin/skaffold /usr/bin/skaffold
-RUN skaffold credits -d /THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES
\ No newline at end of file
+RUN skaffold credits -d /THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES
diff --git a/deploy/skaffold/Dockerfile.deps b/deploy/skaffold/Dockerfile.deps
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..99c572f5274
--- /dev/null
+++ b/deploy/skaffold/Dockerfile.deps
@@ -0,0 +1,110 @@
+# Copyright 2019 The Skaffold Authors All rights reserved.
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+
+# Download kubectl
+FROM alpine:3.10 as download-kubectl
+ENV KUBECTL_VERSION v1.14.10
+ENV KUBECTL_URL https://storage.googleapis.com/kubernetes-release/release/${KUBECTL_VERSION}/bin/linux/amd64/kubectl
+RUN wget -O kubectl "${KUBECTL_URL}"
+RUN chmod +x kubectl
+
+# Download helm
+FROM alpine:3.10 as download-helm
+ENV HELM_VERSION v2.12.0
+ENV HELM_URL https://storage.googleapis.com/kubernetes-helm/helm-${HELM_VERSION}-linux-amd64.tar.gz
+RUN wget -O helm.tar.gz "${HELM_URL}"
+RUN tar -xvf helm.tar.gz --strip-components 1
+
+# Download kustomize
+FROM alpine:3.10 as download-kustomize
+ENV KUSTOMIZE_VERSION 3.5.4
+ENV KUSTOMIZE_URL https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/kustomize/releases/download/kustomize/v${KUSTOMIZE_VERSION}/kustomize_v${KUSTOMIZE_VERSION}_linux_amd64.tar.gz
+RUN wget -O kustomize.tar.gz "${KUSTOMIZE_URL}"
+RUN tar -xvf kustomize.tar.gz
+
+# Download kompose
+FROM alpine:3.10 as download-kompose
+ENV KOMPOSE_VERSION v1.20.0
+ENV KOMPOSE_URL https://github.com/kubernetes/kompose/releases/download/${KOMPOSE_VERSION}/kompose-linux-amd64
+RUN wget -O kompose "${KOMPOSE_URL}"
+RUN chmod +x kompose
+
+# Download container-structure-test
+FROM alpine:3.10 as download-container-structure-test
+ENV CONTAINER_STRUCTURE_TEST_VERSION v1.8.0
+ENV CONTAINER_STRUCTURE_TEST_URL https://storage.googleapis.com/container-structure-test/${CONTAINER_STRUCTURE_TEST_VERSION}/container-structure-test-linux-amd64
+RUN wget -O container-structure-test "${CONTAINER_STRUCTURE_TEST_URL}"
+RUN chmod +x container-structure-test
+
+# Download kind
+FROM alpine:3.10 as download-kind
+ENV KIND_VERSION v0.7.0
+ENV KIND_URL https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/kind/releases/download/${KIND_VERSION}/kind-linux-amd64
+RUN wget -O kind "${KIND_URL}"
+RUN chmod +x kind
+
+# Download gcloud
+FROM alpine:3.10 as download-gcloud
+ENV GCLOUD_VERSION 276.0.0
+ENV GCLOUD_URL https://dl.google.com/dl/cloudsdk/channels/rapid/downloads/google-cloud-sdk-${GCLOUD_VERSION}-linux-x86_64.tar.gz
+RUN wget -O gcloud.tar.gz "${GCLOUD_URL}"
+RUN tar -zxf gcloud.tar.gz
+
+# Download bazel
+FROM alpine:3.10 as download-bazel
+ENV BAZEL_VERSION 2.0.0
+ENV BAZEL_URL https://github.com/bazelbuild/bazel/releases/download/${BAZEL_VERSION}/bazel-${BAZEL_VERSION}-linux-x86_64
+RUN wget -O bazel "${BAZEL_URL}"
+RUN chmod +x bazel
+
+FROM gcr.io/gcp-runtimes/ubuntu_16_0_4 as runtime_deps
+
+RUN apt-get update && \
+    apt-get install --no-install-recommends --no-install-suggests -y \
+    git python unzip && \
+    rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
+
+COPY --from=docker:18.09.6 /usr/local/bin/docker /usr/local/bin/
+COPY --from=download-kubectl kubectl /usr/local/bin/
+COPY --from=download-helm helm /usr/local/bin/
+COPY --from=download-kustomize kustomize /usr/local/bin/
+COPY --from=download-kompose kompose /usr/local/bin/
+COPY --from=download-container-structure-test container-structure-test /usr/local/bin/
+COPY --from=download-bazel bazel /usr/local/bin/
+COPY --from=download-gcloud google-cloud-sdk/ /google-cloud-sdk/
+COPY --from=download-kind kind /usr/local/bin/
+
+# Finish installation of bazel
+RUN bazel version
+
+# Finish installation of gcloud
+RUN CLOUDSDK_PYTHON="python2.7" /google-cloud-sdk/install.sh \
+    --usage-reporting=false \
+    --bash-completion=false \
+    --disable-installation-options
+ENV PATH=$PATH:/google-cloud-sdk/bin
+RUN gcloud auth configure-docker
+
+FROM runtime_deps
+RUN apt-get update && apt-get install --no-install-recommends --no-install-suggests -y \
+    build-essential \
+    python-setuptools \
+    lsb-release \
+    openjdk-8-jdk \
+    software-properties-common \
+    jq \
+    apt-transport-https && \
+    rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
+COPY --from=golang:1.13 /usr/local/go /usr/local/go
+ENV PATH /usr/local/go/bin:/root/go/bin:$PATH
diff --git a/hack/check-skaffold-builder.sh b/hack/check-skaffold-builder.sh
new file mode 100755
index 00000000000..6404eee17f8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hack/check-skaffold-builder.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+
+# Copyright 2019 The Skaffold Authors
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+
+set -e -o pipefail
+
+DIR="$( cd "$( dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}" )" && pwd )"
+
+DOCKERFILE=deploy/skaffold/Dockerfile
+SHA1=$("${DIR}/skaffold-deps-sha1.sh")
+UPDATED_DOCKERFILE=$(sed -E "s/FROM (.*):.* as (.*)/FROM \1:${SHA1} as \2/" deploy/skaffold/Dockerfile)
+echo "${UPDATED_DOCKERFILE}" > "${DOCKERFILE}"
+
+if [[ ! -z $(git status --porcelain -- "${DOCKERFILE}") ]]; then
+    echo "Please commit ${DOCKERFILE}"
+    exit 1
+fi
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hack/checks.sh b/hack/checks.sh
index 0d289dbdcef..487923fb968 100755
--- a/hack/checks.sh
+++ b/hack/checks.sh
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ RESET='\033[0m'
 echo "Running validation scripts..."
 scripts=(
     "hack/check-schema-changes.sh"
+    "hack/check-skaffold-builder.sh"
     "hack/boilerplate.sh"
     "hack/gofmt.sh"
     "hack/pedantic-imports.sh"
diff --git a/hack/skaffold-deps-sha1.sh b/hack/skaffold-deps-sha1.sh
new file mode 100755
index 00000000000..07ca6cb55b1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hack/skaffold-deps-sha1.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+
+# Copyright 2019 The Skaffold Authors
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+
+set -e -o pipefail
+
+DIR="$( cd "$( dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}" )" && pwd )"
+
+openssl sha1 -r "${DIR}/../deploy/skaffold/Dockerfile.deps" | cut -d' ' -f1