diff --git a/packages/react-native-gradle-plugin/src/main/kotlin/com/facebook/react/ReactExtension.kt b/packages/react-native-gradle-plugin/src/main/kotlin/com/facebook/react/ReactExtension.kt
index 44f0e6b9933f81..848434a1b5836b 100644
--- a/packages/react-native-gradle-plugin/src/main/kotlin/com/facebook/react/ReactExtension.kt
+++ b/packages/react-native-gradle-plugin/src/main/kotlin/com/facebook/react/ReactExtension.kt
@@ -22,12 +22,6 @@ abstract class ReactExtension @Inject constructor(project: Project) {
 
   private val objects = project.objects
 
-  /**
-   * Whether the React App plugin should apply its logic or not. Set it to false if you're still
-   * relying on `react.gradle` to configure your build. Default: false
-   */
-  val applyAppPlugin: Property<Boolean> = objects.property(Boolean::class.java).convention(false)
-
   /**
    * The path to the root of your project. This is the path to where the `package.json` lives. All
    * the CLI commands will be invoked from this folder as working directory.
diff --git a/packages/react-native-gradle-plugin/src/main/kotlin/com/facebook/react/ReactPlugin.kt b/packages/react-native-gradle-plugin/src/main/kotlin/com/facebook/react/ReactPlugin.kt
index 81a708ff0456e5..f51a3dd8fa335c 100644
--- a/packages/react-native-gradle-plugin/src/main/kotlin/com/facebook/react/ReactPlugin.kt
+++ b/packages/react-native-gradle-plugin/src/main/kotlin/com/facebook/react/ReactPlugin.kt
@@ -40,14 +40,14 @@ class ReactPlugin : Plugin<Project> {
     if ((jvmVersion?.toIntOrNull() ?: 0) <= 8) {
       project.logger.error(
           """
-      
+
       ********************************************************************************
-      
+
       ERROR: requires JDK11 or higher.
       Incompatible major version detected: '$jvmVersion'
-      
+
       ********************************************************************************
-      
+
       """
               .trimIndent())
       exitProcess(1)
@@ -55,11 +55,11 @@ class ReactPlugin : Plugin<Project> {
   }
 
   private fun applyAppPlugin(project: Project, config: ReactExtension) {
-    configureReactNativeNdk(project, config)
-    configureBuildConfigFields(project)
-    configureDevPorts(project)
-    project.afterEvaluate {
-      if (config.applyAppPlugin.getOrElse(false)) {
+    project.pluginManager.withPlugin("com.android.application") {
+      configureReactNativeNdk(project, config)
+      configureBuildConfigFields(project)
+      configureDevPorts(project)
+      project.afterEvaluate {
         val isAndroidLibrary = project.plugins.hasPlugin("com.android.library")
         val variants =
             if (isAndroidLibrary) {
diff --git a/packages/react-native-gradle-plugin/src/test/kotlin/com/facebook/react/ReactPluginTest.kt b/packages/react-native-gradle-plugin/src/test/kotlin/com/facebook/react/ReactPluginTest.kt
deleted file mode 100644
index 39caba83bfaf92..00000000000000
--- a/packages/react-native-gradle-plugin/src/test/kotlin/com/facebook/react/ReactPluginTest.kt
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,56 +0,0 @@
-/*
- * Copyright (c) Meta Platforms, Inc. and affiliates.
- *
- * This source code is licensed under the MIT license found in the
- * LICENSE file in the root directory of this source tree.
- */
-
-package com.facebook.react
-
-import com.android.build.gradle.AppExtension
-import org.gradle.testfixtures.ProjectBuilder
-import org.junit.Assert.assertTrue
-import org.junit.Test
-
-class ReactPluginTest {
-
-  @Test
-  fun reactPlugin_withApplyAppPluginSetToTrue_addsARelevantTask() {
-    val project = ProjectBuilder.builder().build()
-    project.plugins.apply("com.android.application")
-    project.plugins.apply("com.facebook.react")
-
-    project.extensions.getByType(AppExtension::class.java).apply { compileSdkVersion(31) }
-    project.extensions.getByType(ReactExtension::class.java).apply {
-      applyAppPlugin.set(true)
-      cliPath.set(".")
-    }
-
-    // We check if the App Plugin si applied by finding one of the added task.
-    assertTrue(project.getTasksByName("bundleDebugJsAndAssets", false).isNotEmpty())
-  }
-
-  @Test
-  fun reactPlugin_withApplyAppPluginSetToFalse_doesNotApplyTheAppPlugin() {
-    val project = ProjectBuilder.builder().build()
-    project.plugins.apply("com.android.application")
-    project.plugins.apply("com.facebook.react")
-
-    project.extensions.getByType(AppExtension::class.java).apply { compileSdkVersion(31) }
-    project.extensions.getByType(ReactExtension::class.java).apply { applyAppPlugin.set(false) }
-
-    assertTrue(project.getTasksByName("bundleDebugJsAndAssets", false).isEmpty())
-  }
-
-  @Test
-  fun reactPlugin_withApplyAppPluginSetToFalse_codegenPluginIsApplied() {
-    val project = ProjectBuilder.builder().build()
-    project.plugins.apply("com.android.application")
-    project.plugins.apply("com.facebook.react")
-
-    project.extensions.getByType(AppExtension::class.java).apply { compileSdkVersion(31) }
-    project.extensions.getByType(ReactExtension::class.java).apply { applyAppPlugin.set(false) }
-
-    assertTrue(project.getTasksByName("buildCodegenCLI", false).isNotEmpty())
-  }
-}
diff --git a/packages/rn-tester/android/app/build.gradle b/packages/rn-tester/android/app/build.gradle
index 2fe27d3fa0cc5b..e80589e004d32b 100644
--- a/packages/rn-tester/android/app/build.gradle
+++ b/packages/rn-tester/android/app/build.gradle
@@ -76,7 +76,6 @@ plugins {
  */
 
 react {
-    applyAppPlugin = true
     cliPath = "../../../../cli.js"
     bundleAssetName = "RNTesterApp.android.bundle"
     entryFile = file("../../js/RNTesterApp.android.js")