diff --git a/src/debug.c b/src/debug.c
index 1b89a7f6e..fcd62855c 100644
--- a/src/debug.c
+++ b/src/debug.c
@@ -496,6 +496,8 @@ void debugCommand(client *c) {
 "    In case RESET is provided the peak reset time will be restored to the default value",
 "REPLYBUFFER RESIZING <0|1>",
 "    Enable or disable the reply buffer resize cron job",
+"DICT-RESIZING <0|1>",
+"    Enable or disable the main dict and expire dict resizing.",
 NULL
         };
         addExtendedReplyHelp(c, help, clusterDebugCommandExtendedHelp());
@@ -1021,6 +1023,9 @@ NULL
             return;
         }
         addReply(c, shared.ok);
+    } else if (!strcasecmp(c->argv[1]->ptr, "dict-resizing") && c->argc == 3) {
+        server.dict_resizing = atoi(c->argv[2]->ptr);
+        addReply(c, shared.ok);
     } else if(!handleDebugClusterCommand(c)) {
         addReplySubcommandSyntaxError(c);
         return;
diff --git a/src/server.c b/src/server.c
index e743eeb8c..1040c50c8 100644
--- a/src/server.c
+++ b/src/server.c
@@ -429,6 +429,9 @@ uint64_t dictEncObjHash(const void *key) {
  * but to guarantee the performance of redis, we still allow dict to expand
  * if dict load factor exceeds HASHTABLE_MAX_LOAD_FACTOR. */
 int dictResizeAllowed(size_t moreMem, double usedRatio) {
+    /* for debug purposes: dict is not allowed to be resized. */
+    if (!server.dict_resizing) return 0;
+
     if (usedRatio <= HASHTABLE_MAX_LOAD_FACTOR) {
         return !overMaxmemoryAfterAlloc(moreMem);
     } else {
@@ -2079,6 +2082,7 @@ void initServerConfig(void) {
     server.next_client_id = 1; /* Client IDs, start from 1 .*/
     server.page_size = sysconf(_SC_PAGESIZE);
     server.pause_cron = 0;
+    server.dict_resizing = 1;
 
     server.latency_tracking_info_percentiles_len = 3;
     server.latency_tracking_info_percentiles = zmalloc(sizeof(double)*(server.latency_tracking_info_percentiles_len));
diff --git a/src/server.h b/src/server.h
index 067b5df93..3b0e9e96e 100644
--- a/src/server.h
+++ b/src/server.h
@@ -1754,6 +1754,7 @@ struct redisServer {
     char *proc_title_template;      /* Process title template format */
     clientBufferLimitsConfig client_obuf_limits[CLIENT_TYPE_OBUF_COUNT];
     int pause_cron;                 /* Don't run cron tasks (debug) */
+    int dict_resizing;              /* Whether to allow main dict and expired dict to be resized (debug) */
     int latency_tracking_enabled;   /* 1 if extended latency tracking is enabled, 0 otherwise. */
     double *latency_tracking_info_percentiles; /* Extended latency tracking info output percentile list configuration. */
     int latency_tracking_info_percentiles_len;
diff --git a/tests/unit/expire.tcl b/tests/unit/expire.tcl
index f05a4407d..3e58bd4f7 100644
--- a/tests/unit/expire.tcl
+++ b/tests/unit/expire.tcl
@@ -853,9 +853,9 @@ start_cluster 1 0 {tags {"expire external:skip cluster slow"}} {
         # hashslot(key) is 12539
         r psetex key 500 val
 
-        # disable resizing
-        r config set rdb-key-save-delay 10000000
-        r bgsave
+        # disable resizing, the reason for not using slow bgsave is because
+        # it will hit the dict_force_resize_ratio.
+        r debug dict-resizing 0
 
         # delete data to have lot's (99%) of empty buckets (slot 12182 should be skipped)
         for {set j 1} {$j <= 99} {incr j} {
@@ -872,20 +872,16 @@ start_cluster 1 0 {tags {"expire external:skip cluster slow"}} {
             [r dbsize] eq 1
         } else {
             if {[r dbsize] eq 0} {
+                puts [r debug htstats 0]
                 fail "scan didn't handle slot skipping logic."
             } else {
+                puts [r debug htstats 0]
                 fail "scan didn't process all valid slots."
             }
         }
 
         # Enable resizing
-        r config set rdb-key-save-delay 0
-        catch {exec kill -9 [get_child_pid 0]}
-        wait_for_condition 1000 10 {
-            [s rdb_bgsave_in_progress] eq 0
-        } else {
-            fail "bgsave did not stop in time."
-        }
+        r debug dict-resizing 1
 
         # put some data into slot 12182 and trigger the resize
         r psetex "{foo}0" 500 a
diff --git a/tests/unit/other.tcl b/tests/unit/other.tcl
index 718266e65..b42abaafe 100644
--- a/tests/unit/other.tcl
+++ b/tests/unit/other.tcl
@@ -438,9 +438,9 @@ start_cluster 1 0 {tags {"other external:skip cluster slow"}} {
         }
         assert_match "*table size: 128*" [r debug HTSTATS 0]
 
-        # disable resizing
-        r config set rdb-key-save-delay 10000000
-        r bgsave
+        # disable resizing, the reason for not using slow bgsave is because
+        # it will hit the dict_force_resize_ratio.
+        r debug dict-resizing 0
 
         # delete data to have lot's (96%) of empty buckets
         for {set j 1} {$j <= 123} {incr j} {
@@ -449,13 +449,7 @@ start_cluster 1 0 {tags {"other external:skip cluster slow"}} {
         assert_match "*table size: 128*" [r debug HTSTATS 0]
 
         # enable resizing
-        r config set rdb-key-save-delay 0
-        catch {exec kill -9 [get_child_pid 0]}
-        wait_for_condition 1000 10 {
-            [s rdb_bgsave_in_progress] eq 0
-        } else {
-            fail "bgsave did not stop in time."
-        }
+        r debug dict-resizing 1
 
         # waiting for serverCron to resize the tables
         wait_for_condition 1000 10 {
@@ -474,22 +468,16 @@ start_cluster 1 0 {tags {"other external:skip cluster slow"}} {
             r set "{alice}$j" a
         }
 
-        # disable resizing
-        r config set rdb-key-save-delay 10000000
-        r bgsave
+        # disable resizing, the reason for not using slow bgsave is because
+        # it will hit the dict_force_resize_ratio.
+        r debug dict-resizing 0
 
         for {set j 1} {$j <= 123} {incr j} {
             r del "{alice}$j"
         }
 
         # enable resizing
-        r config set rdb-key-save-delay 0
-        catch {exec kill -9 [get_child_pid 0]}
-        wait_for_condition 1000 10 {
-            [s rdb_bgsave_in_progress] eq 0
-        } else {
-            fail "bgsave did not stop in time."
-        }
+        r debug dict-resizing 1
 
         # waiting for serverCron to resize the tables
         wait_for_condition 1000 10 {