diff --git a/cmake/dependencies.lock b/cmake/dependencies.lock
index 432b1a56..ed452cae 100644
--- a/cmake/dependencies.lock
+++ b/cmake/dependencies.lock
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ set(YAML_CPP_VERSION "0.8.0" CACHE STRING "yaml-cpp version")
 set(GRPC_VERSION "1.75.1" CACHE STRING "gRPC version")
 set(PROTOBUF_VERSION "3.25.1" CACHE STRING "Protobuf version")
 set(ABSEIL_VERSION "20240116.0" CACHE STRING "Abseil version")
+# Cache revision: increment to force CPM cache invalidation (current: 2)
 
 # Testing
 set(GTEST_VERSION "1.14.0" CACHE STRING "Google Test version")
diff --git a/cmake/dependencies/grpc.cmake b/cmake/dependencies/grpc.cmake
index 2d1c72a5..1dcb942f 100644
--- a/cmake/dependencies/grpc.cmake
+++ b/cmake/dependencies/grpc.cmake
@@ -58,11 +58,14 @@ set(utf8_range_BUILD_TESTS OFF CACHE BOOL "" FORCE)
 set(utf8_range_INSTALL OFF CACHE BOOL "" FORCE)
 
 # Use CPM to fetch gRPC with bundled dependencies
+# GIT_SUBMODULES "" disables submodule recursion since gRPC handles its own deps via CMake
 CPMAddPackage(
   NAME grpc
   VERSION ${GRPC_VERSION}
   GITHUB_REPOSITORY grpc/grpc
   GIT_TAG v${GRPC_VERSION}
+  GIT_SUBMODULES ""
+  GIT_SHALLOW TRUE
 )
 
 # Check which target naming convention is used