diff --git a/spring-cloud-stream-binders/spring-cloud-stream-binder-rabbit/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/stream/binder/rabbit/config/RabbitServiceAutoConfiguration.java b/spring-cloud-stream-binders/spring-cloud-stream-binder-rabbit/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/stream/binder/rabbit/config/RabbitServiceAutoConfiguration.java
index c69798c57..34a8ece22 100644
--- a/spring-cloud-stream-binders/spring-cloud-stream-binder-rabbit/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/stream/binder/rabbit/config/RabbitServiceAutoConfiguration.java
+++ b/spring-cloud-stream-binders/spring-cloud-stream-binder-rabbit/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/stream/binder/rabbit/config/RabbitServiceAutoConfiguration.java
@@ -20,11 +20,13 @@ import org.springframework.amqp.rabbit.connection.ConnectionFactory;
 import org.springframework.amqp.rabbit.core.RabbitTemplate;
 import org.springframework.boot.actuate.health.HealthIndicator;
 import org.springframework.boot.actuate.health.RabbitHealthIndicator;
-import org.springframework.boot.autoconfigure.AutoConfigureBefore;
 import org.springframework.boot.autoconfigure.amqp.RabbitAutoConfiguration;
-import org.springframework.boot.autoconfigure.cloud.CloudAutoConfiguration;
+import org.springframework.boot.autoconfigure.amqp.RabbitProperties;
 import org.springframework.boot.autoconfigure.condition.ConditionalOnClass;
 import org.springframework.boot.autoconfigure.condition.ConditionalOnMissingBean;
+import org.springframework.boot.autoconfigure.condition.ConditionalOnMissingClass;
+import org.springframework.boot.autoconfigure.condition.ConditionalOnProperty;
+import org.springframework.boot.context.properties.EnableConfigurationProperties;
 import org.springframework.cloud.Cloud;
 import org.springframework.cloud.CloudFactory;
 import org.springframework.cloud.stream.binder.Binder;
@@ -41,11 +43,11 @@ import org.springframework.context.annotation.Profile;
  * @author Glenn Renfro
  * @author David Turanski
  * @author Eric Bottard
+ * @author Marius Bogoevici
  */
 @Configuration
 @ConditionalOnMissingBean(Binder.class)
 @Import(RabbitMessageChannelBinderConfiguration.class)
-@AutoConfigureBefore({CloudAutoConfiguration.class, RabbitAutoConfiguration.class})
 public class RabbitServiceAutoConfiguration {
 
 	@Bean
@@ -53,26 +55,83 @@ public class RabbitServiceAutoConfiguration {
 		return new RabbitHealthIndicator(rabbitTemplate);
 	}
 
+	/**
+	 * Configuration to be used when the cloud profile is set.
+	 */
 	@Configuration
 	@Profile("cloud")
-	@ConditionalOnClass(Cloud.class)
-	protected static class CloudConfig {
+	protected static class CloudProfile {
 
-		@Bean
-		public Cloud cloud() {
-			return new CloudFactory().getCloud();
+		/**
+		 * Configuration to be used when the cloud profile is set, and Cloud Connectors
+		 * are found on the classpath.
+		 */
+		@Configuration
+		@ConditionalOnClass(Cloud.class)
+		protected static class CloudConnectors {
+
+			@Bean
+			public Cloud cloud() {
+				return new CloudFactory().getCloud();
+			}
+
+			/**
+			 * Active only if {@code spring.cloud.stream.overrideCloudConnectors} is not
+			 * set to {@code true}.
+			 */
+			@Configuration
+			@ConditionalOnProperty(value = "spring.cloud.stream.overrideCloudConnectors", havingValue = "false", matchIfMissing = true)
+			// Required to parse Rabbit properties which are passed to the binder for
+			// clustering. We need to enable it here explicitly as the default Rabbit
+			// configuration is not triggered.
+			@EnableConfigurationProperties(RabbitProperties.class)
+			protected static class UseCloudConnectors {
+
+				/**
+				 * Creates a {@link ConnectionFactory} using the singleton service
+				 * connector.
+				 *
+				 * @param cloud {@link Cloud} instance to be used for accessing services.
+				 * @return the {@link ConnectionFactory} used by the binder.
+				 */
+				@Bean
+				ConnectionFactory rabbitConnectionFactory(Cloud cloud) {
+					return cloud.getSingletonServiceConnector(ConnectionFactory.class, null);
+				}
+
+				@Bean
+				@ConditionalOnMissingBean(RabbitTemplate.class)
+				RabbitTemplate rabbitTemplate(ConnectionFactory connectionFactory) {
+					return new RabbitTemplate(connectionFactory);
+				}
+			}
+
+			/**
+			 * Configuration to be used if
+			 * {@code spring.cloud.stream.overrideCloudConnectors} is set to {@code true}.
+			 * Defers to Spring Boot Autoconfiguration.
+			 */
+			@Configuration
+			@ConditionalOnProperty("spring.cloud.stream.overrideCloudConnectors")
+			@Import(RabbitAutoConfiguration.class)
+			protected static class OverrideCloudConnectors {
+			}
 		}
 
-		@Bean
-		@ConditionalOnMissingBean(ConnectionFactory.class)
-		ConnectionFactory rabbitConnectionFactory(Cloud cloud) {
-			return cloud.getSingletonServiceConnector(ConnectionFactory.class, null);
+		@Configuration
+		@ConditionalOnMissingClass("org.springframework.cloud.Cloud")
+		@Import(RabbitAutoConfiguration.class)
+		protected static class NoCloudConnectors {
 		}
 	}
 
+	/**
+	 * Configuration to be used when the cloud profile is not set. Defer to Spring Boot
+	 * autoconfiguration.
+	 */
 	@Configuration
 	@Profile("!cloud")
 	@Import(RabbitAutoConfiguration.class)
-	protected static class NoCloudConfig {
+	protected static class NoCloudProfile {
 	}
 }
diff --git a/spring-cloud-stream-docs/src/main/asciidoc/spring-cloud-stream-overview.adoc b/spring-cloud-stream-docs/src/main/asciidoc/spring-cloud-stream-overview.adoc
index 9898d1cfd..9514bea15 100644
--- a/spring-cloud-stream-docs/src/main/asciidoc/spring-cloud-stream-overview.adoc
+++ b/spring-cloud-stream-docs/src/main/asciidoc/spring-cloud-stream-overview.adoc
@@ -720,6 +720,7 @@ spring.cloud.stream.bindings.input.binder=kafka
 spring.cloud.stream.bindings.output.binder=rabbit
 ----
 
+[[multiple-systems]]
 === Connecting to Multiple Systems
 
 By default, binders share the application's Spring Boot auto-configuration, so that one instance of each binder found on the classpath will be created.
@@ -842,6 +843,16 @@ Default: empty (allowing any destination to be bound).
 spring.cloud.stream.defaultBinder::
   The default binder to use, if multiple binders are configured.
 See <<multiple-binders,Multiple Binders on the Classpath>>.
++
+Default: empty.
+
+spring.cloud.stream.overrideCloudConnectors::
+  This property is only applicable when the `cloud` profile is active and Spring Cloud Connectors are provided with the application.
+If the property is false (the default), the binder will detect a suitable bound service (e.g. a RabbitMQ service bound in Cloud Foundry for the RabbitMQ binder) and will use it for creating connections (usually via Spring Cloud Connectors).
+When set to true, this property instructs binders to completely ignore the bound services and rely on Spring Boot properties (e.g. relying on the `spring.rabbitmq.*` properties provided in the environment for the RabbitMQ binder).
+The typical usage of this property is to be nested in a customized environment <<multiple-systems, when connecting to multiple systems>>.
++
+Default: false.
 
 [[binding-properties]]
 === Binding Properties