diff --git a/share/sysbuild/CMakeLists.txt b/share/sysbuild/CMakeLists.txt
index f939e73cafe..f0ee3763186 100644
--- a/share/sysbuild/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/share/sysbuild/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -91,4 +91,7 @@ while(NOT "${images_length}" EQUAL "${processed_length}")
   set(processed_length ${processed_length_new})
 endwhile()
 
+foreach(image ${IMAGES})
+  ExternalZephyrProject_Cmake(APPLICATION ${image})
+endforeach()
 include(cmake/domains.cmake)
diff --git a/share/sysbuild/cmake/modules/sysbuild_extensions.cmake b/share/sysbuild/cmake/modules/sysbuild_extensions.cmake
index 9ae0daa749f..843ff2060e7 100644
--- a/share/sysbuild/cmake/modules/sysbuild_extensions.cmake
+++ b/share/sysbuild/cmake/modules/sysbuild_extensions.cmake
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-# Copyright (c) 2021 Nordic Semiconductor
+# Copyright (c) 2021-2023 Nordic Semiconductor
 #
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
 
@@ -178,44 +178,6 @@ function(ExternalZephyrProject_Add)
 
   set(sysbuild_cache_file ${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/${ZBUILD_APPLICATION}_sysbuild_cache.txt)
 
-  get_cmake_property(sysbuild_cache CACHE_VARIABLES)
-  foreach(var_name ${sysbuild_cache})
-    if(NOT "${var_name}" MATCHES "^CMAKE_.*")
-      # We don't want to pass internal CMake variables.
-      # Required CMake variable to be passed, like CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE must be
-      # passed using `-D` on command invocation.
-      get_property(var_type CACHE ${var_name} PROPERTY TYPE)
-      set(cache_entry "${var_name}:${var_type}=$CACHE{${var_name}}")
-      string(REPLACE ";" "\;" cache_entry "${cache_entry}")
-      list(APPEND sysbuild_cache_strings "${cache_entry}\n")
-    endif()
-  endforeach()
-  list(APPEND sysbuild_cache_strings "SYSBUILD_NAME:STRING=${ZBUILD_APPLICATION}\n")
-
-  if(ZBUILD_MAIN_APP)
-    list(APPEND sysbuild_cache_strings "SYSBUILD_MAIN_APP:BOOL=True\n")
-  endif()
-
-  if(DEFINED ZBUILD_BOARD)
-    # Only set image specific board if provided.
-    # The sysbuild BOARD is exported through sysbuild cache, and will be used
-    # unless <image>_BOARD is defined.
-    if(DEFINED ZBUILD_BOARD_REVISION)
-      # Use provided board revision
-      list(APPEND sysbuild_cache_strings "${ZBUILD_APPLICATION}_BOARD:STRING=${ZBUILD_BOARD}@${ZBUILD_BOARD_REVISION}\n")
-    else()
-      list(APPEND sysbuild_cache_strings "${ZBUILD_APPLICATION}_BOARD:STRING=${ZBUILD_BOARD}\n")
-    endif()
-  elseif(DEFINED ZBUILD_BOARD_REVISION)
-    message(FATAL_ERROR
-      "ExternalZephyrProject_Add(... BOARD_REVISION ${ZBUILD_BOARD_REVISION})"
-      " requires BOARD."
-    )
-  endif()
-
-  file(WRITE ${sysbuild_cache_file}.tmp ${sysbuild_cache_strings})
-  zephyr_file_copy(${sysbuild_cache_file}.tmp ${sysbuild_cache_file} ONLY_IF_DIFFERENT)
-
   set(shared_cmake_vars_argument)
   foreach(shared_var ${shared_cmake_variables_list})
     if(DEFINED CACHE{${ZBUILD_APPLICATION}_${shared_var}})
@@ -231,34 +193,6 @@ function(ExternalZephyrProject_Add)
     endif()
   endforeach()
 
-  set(image_banner "* Running CMake for ${ZBUILD_APPLICATION} *")
-  string(LENGTH "${image_banner}" image_banner_width)
-  string(REPEAT "*" ${image_banner_width} image_banner_header)
-  message(STATUS "\n   ${image_banner_header}\n"
-                 "   ${image_banner}\n"
-                 "   ${image_banner_header}\n"
-  )
-
-  execute_process(
-    COMMAND ${CMAKE_COMMAND}
-      -G${CMAKE_GENERATOR}
-      -DSYSBUILD:BOOL=True
-      -DSYSBUILD_CACHE:FILEPATH=${sysbuild_cache_file}
-      ${shared_cmake_vars_argument}
-      -B${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/${ZBUILD_APPLICATION}
-      -S${ZBUILD_SOURCE_DIR}
-    RESULT_VARIABLE   return_val
-    WORKING_DIRECTORY ${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}
-  )
-
-  if(return_val)
-    message(FATAL_ERROR
-            "CMake configure failed for Zephyr project: ${ZBUILD_APPLICATION}\n"
-            "Location: ${ZBUILD_SOURCE_DIR}"
-    )
-  endif()
-  load_cache(IMAGE ${ZBUILD_APPLICATION} BINARY_DIR ${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/${ZBUILD_APPLICATION})
-
   foreach(kconfig_target
       menuconfig
       hardenconfig
@@ -282,10 +216,133 @@ function(ExternalZephyrProject_Add)
     SOURCE_DIR ${ZBUILD_SOURCE_DIR}
     BINARY_DIR ${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/${ZBUILD_APPLICATION}
     CONFIGURE_COMMAND ""
+    CMAKE_ARGS -DSYSBUILD:BOOL=True
+               -DSYSBUILD_CACHE:FILEPATH=${sysbuild_cache_file}
+               ${shared_cmake_vars_argument}
     BUILD_COMMAND ${CMAKE_COMMAND} --build .
     INSTALL_COMMAND ""
     BUILD_ALWAYS True
     USES_TERMINAL_BUILD True
   )
-  import_kconfig(CONFIG_ ${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR}/${ZBUILD_APPLICATION}/zephyr/.config TARGET ${ZBUILD_APPLICATION})
+  set_target_properties(${ZBUILD_APPLICATION} PROPERTIES CACHE_FILE ${sysbuild_cache_file})
+  if(ZBUILD_MAIN_APP)
+    set_target_properties(${ZBUILD_APPLICATION} PROPERTIES MAIN_APP True)
+  endif()
+
+  if(DEFINED ZBUILD_BOARD)
+    # Only set image specific board if provided.
+    # The sysbuild BOARD is exported through sysbuild cache, and will be used
+    # unless <image>_BOARD is defined.
+    if(DEFINED ZBUILD_BOARD_REVISION)
+      # Use provided board revision
+      set_target_properties(${ZBUILD_APPLICATION} PROPERTIES BOARD ${ZBUILD_BOARD}@${ZBUILD_BOARD_REVISION})
+    else()
+      set_target_properties(${ZBUILD_APPLICATION} PROPERTIES BOARD ${ZBUILD_BOARD})
+    endif()
+  elseif(DEFINED ZBUILD_BOARD_REVISION)
+    message(FATAL_ERROR
+      "ExternalZephyrProject_Add(... BOARD_REVISION ${ZBUILD_BOARD_REVISION})"
+      " requires BOARD."
+    )
+  elseif(DEFINED BOARD_REVISION)
+    # Include build revision for target image
+    set_target_properties(${ZBUILD_APPLICATION} PROPERTIES BOARD ${BOARD}@${BOARD_REVISION})
+  endif()
+endfunction()
+
+# Usage:
+#   ExternalZephyrProject_Cmake(APPLICATION <name>)
+#
+# This function invokes the CMake configure step on an external Zephyr project
+# which has been added at an earlier stage using `ExternalZephyrProject_Add()`
+#
+# If the application is not due to ExternalZephyrProject_Add() being called,
+# then an error is raised.
+#
+# APPLICATION: <name>: Name of the application.
+#
+function(ExternalZephyrProject_Cmake)
+  cmake_parse_arguments(ZCMAKE "" "APPLICATION" "" ${ARGN})
+
+  if(ZBUILD_UNPARSED_ARGUMENTS)
+    message(FATAL_ERROR
+      "ExternalZephyrProject_Cmake(${ARGV0} <val> ...) given unknown arguments:"
+      " ${ZBUILD_UNPARSED_ARGUMENTS}"
+    )
+  endif()
+
+  if(NOT DEFINED ZCMAKE_APPLICATION)
+    message(FATAL_ERROR "Missing required argument: APPLICATION")
+  endif()
+
+  if(NOT TARGET ${ZCMAKE_APPLICATION})
+    message(FATAL_ERROR
+      "${ZCMAKE_APPLICATION} does not exists. Remember to call "
+      "ExternalZephyrProject_Add(APPLICATION ${ZCMAKE_APPLICATION} ...) first."
+    )
+  endif()
+
+  set(image_banner "* Running CMake for ${ZCMAKE_APPLICATION} *")
+  string(LENGTH "${image_banner}" image_banner_width)
+  string(REPEAT "*" ${image_banner_width} image_banner_header)
+  message(STATUS "\n   ${image_banner_header}\n"
+                 "   ${image_banner}\n"
+                 "   ${image_banner_header}\n"
+  )
+
+  ExternalProject_Get_Property(${ZCMAKE_APPLICATION} SOURCE_DIR BINARY_DIR CMAKE_ARGS)
+  get_target_property(${ZCMAKE_APPLICATION}_CACHE_FILE ${ZCMAKE_APPLICATION} CACHE_FILE)
+  get_target_property(${ZCMAKE_APPLICATION}_BOARD      ${ZCMAKE_APPLICATION} BOARD)
+  get_target_property(${ZCMAKE_APPLICATION}_MAIN_APP   ${ZCMAKE_APPLICATION} MAIN_APP)
+
+  get_cmake_property(sysbuild_cache CACHE_VARIABLES)
+  foreach(var_name ${sysbuild_cache})
+    if(NOT "${var_name}" MATCHES "^CMAKE_.*")
+      # We don't want to pass internal CMake variables.
+      # Required CMake variable to be passed, like CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE must be
+      # passed using `-D` on command invocation.
+      get_property(var_type CACHE ${var_name} PROPERTY TYPE)
+      set(cache_entry "${var_name}:${var_type}=${${var_name}}")
+      string(REPLACE ";" "\;" cache_entry "${cache_entry}")
+      list(APPEND sysbuild_cache_strings "${cache_entry}\n")
+    endif()
+  endforeach()
+  list(APPEND sysbuild_cache_strings "SYSBUILD_NAME:STRING=${ZCMAKE_APPLICATION}\n")
+
+  if(${ZCMAKE_APPLICATION}_MAIN_APP)
+    list(APPEND sysbuild_cache_strings "SYSBUILD_MAIN_APP:BOOL=True\n")
+  endif()
+
+  if(${ZCMAKE_APPLICATION}_BOARD)
+    # Only set image specific board if provided.
+    # The sysbuild BOARD is exported through sysbuild cache, and will be used
+    # unless <image>_BOARD is defined.
+    list(APPEND sysbuild_cache_strings
+         "${ZCMAKE_APPLICATION}_BOARD:STRING=${${ZCMAKE_APPLICATION}_BOARD}\n"
+    )
+  endif()
+
+  file(WRITE ${${ZCMAKE_APPLICATION}_CACHE_FILE}.tmp ${sysbuild_cache_strings})
+  zephyr_file_copy(${${ZCMAKE_APPLICATION}_CACHE_FILE}.tmp
+                   ${${ZCMAKE_APPLICATION}_CACHE_FILE} ONLY_IF_DIFFERENT
+  )
+
+  execute_process(
+    COMMAND ${CMAKE_COMMAND}
+      -G${CMAKE_GENERATOR}
+        ${CMAKE_ARGS}
+      -B${BINARY_DIR}
+      -S${SOURCE_DIR}
+    RESULT_VARIABLE   return_val
+    WORKING_DIRECTORY ${BINARY_DIR}
+  )
+
+  if(return_val)
+    message(FATAL_ERROR
+            "CMake configure failed for Zephyr project: ${ZCMAKE_APPLICATION}\n"
+            "Location: ${SOURCE_DIR}"
+    )
+  endif()
+  load_cache(IMAGE ${ZCMAKE_APPLICATION} BINARY_DIR ${BINARY_DIR})
+  import_kconfig(CONFIG_ ${BINARY_DIR}/zephyr/.config TARGET ${ZCMAKE_APPLICATION})
 endfunction()