diff --git a/docs/changelog-fragments.d/236.bugfix.md b/docs/changelog-fragments.d/236.bugfix.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..c8f50718
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/changelog-fragments.d/236.bugfix.md
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+Ensure that Ansible calls do not return ANSI escapes, so we can parse them.
+[vscode-ansible#373] -- by {user}`ssbarnea`
+
+[vscode-ansible#373]: https://github.com/ansible/vscode-ansible/issues/373
diff --git a/src/utils/misc.ts b/src/utils/misc.ts
index 7804d76b..16631cff 100644
--- a/src/utils/misc.ts
+++ b/src/utils/misc.ts
@@ -68,6 +68,8 @@ export function withInterpreter(
 
     // emulating virtual environment activation script
     const envOverride = {
+      // see https://github.com/ansible/vscode-ansible/issues/373
+      ANSIBLE_FORCE_COLOR: '0',
       VIRTUAL_ENV: virtualEnv,
       PATH: `${pathEntry}:${process.env.PATH}`,
     };