diff --git a/constructor/conda_interface.py b/constructor/conda_interface.py
index b66d3e32..d4081316 100644
--- a/constructor/conda_interface.py
+++ b/constructor/conda_interface.py
@@ -130,6 +130,9 @@ def get_repodata(url):
                 "packages.conda": {},
                 "removed": [],
             }
+        elif isinstance(raw_repodata_str, dict):
+            # conda 26.x+ may return an already-parsed dict from fetch_latest()
+            full_repodata = raw_repodata_str
         else:
             full_repodata = json.loads(raw_repodata_str)
 
diff --git a/news/1196-conda-26-fetch-latest-dict b/news/1196-conda-26-fetch-latest-dict
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..a1af286e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/news/1196-conda-26-fetch-latest-dict
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+### Enhancements
+
+* <news item>
+
+### Bug fixes
+
+* Fix TypeError when conda 26.x returns dict from `fetch_latest()`. (#1196)
+
+### Deprecations
+
+* <news item>
+
+### Docs
+
+* <news item>
+
+### Other
+
+* <news item>