diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index 745a02e02df61..141cee12392a0 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -244,6 +244,9 @@ shader_format_spirv = ["bevy_internal/shader_format_spirv"]
 # Enable some limitations to be able to use WebGL2. If not enabled, it will default to WebGPU in Wasm. Please refer to the [WebGL2 and WebGPU](https://github.com/bevyengine/bevy/tree/latest/examples#webgl2-and-webgpu) section of the examples README for more information on how to run Wasm builds with WebGPU.
 webgl2 = ["bevy_internal/webgl"]
 
+# Enables the built-in asset processor for processed assets.
+asset_processor = ["bevy_internal/asset_processor"]
+
 # Enables watching the filesystem for Bevy Asset hot-reloading
 file_watcher = ["bevy_internal/file_watcher"]
 
@@ -1080,7 +1083,7 @@ wasm = true
 name = "asset_processing"
 path = "examples/asset/processing/processing.rs"
 doc-scrape-examples = true
-required-features = ["file_watcher"]
+required-features = ["file_watcher", "asset_processor"]
 
 [package.metadata.example.asset_processing]
 name = "Asset Processing"
diff --git a/crates/bevy_asset/Cargo.toml b/crates/bevy_asset/Cargo.toml
index 52717f627e936..922b622b89d8c 100644
--- a/crates/bevy_asset/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/bevy_asset/Cargo.toml
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ keywords = ["bevy"]
 file_watcher = ["notify-debouncer-full", "watch"]
 embedded_watcher = ["file_watcher"]
 multi-threaded = ["bevy_tasks/multi-threaded"]
+asset_processor = []
 watch = []
 
 [dependencies]
diff --git a/crates/bevy_asset/src/lib.rs b/crates/bevy_asset/src/lib.rs
index 8787d604cc741..58a2a191108c4 100644
--- a/crates/bevy_asset/src/lib.rs
+++ b/crates/bevy_asset/src/lib.rs
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ use crate::{
     io::{embedded::EmbeddedAssetRegistry, AssetSourceBuilder, AssetSourceBuilders, AssetSourceId},
     processor::{AssetProcessor, Process},
 };
-use bevy_app::{App, First, MainScheduleOrder, Plugin, PostUpdate, Startup};
+use bevy_app::{App, First, MainScheduleOrder, Plugin, PostUpdate};
 use bevy_ecs::{
     reflect::AppTypeRegistry,
     schedule::{IntoSystemConfigs, IntoSystemSetConfigs, ScheduleLabel, SystemSet},
@@ -80,21 +80,21 @@ pub enum AssetMode {
     /// [`AssetReader`]: crate::io::AssetReader
     /// [`AssetSource`]: crate::io::AssetSource
     Unprocessed,
-    /// Loads assets from their final processed [`AssetReader`]. This should generally only be used when distributing apps.
-    /// Use [`AssetMode::ProcessedDev`] to develop apps that process assets, then switch to [`AssetMode::Processed`] when deploying the apps.
+    /// Assets will be "pre-processed". This enables assets to be imported / converted / optimized ahead of time.
     ///
-    /// [`AssetReader`]: crate::io::AssetReader
-    Processed,
-    /// Starts an [`AssetProcessor`] in the background that reads assets from their unprocessed [`AssetSource`] (defaults to the `assets` folder),
-    /// processes them according to their [`AssetMeta`], and writes them to their processed [`AssetSource`] (defaults to the `imported_assets/Default` folder).
+    /// Assets will be read from their unprocessed [`AssetSource`] (defaults to the `assets` folder),
+    /// processed according to their [`AssetMeta`], and written to their processed [`AssetSource`] (defaults to the `imported_assets/Default` folder).
     ///
-    /// Apps will load assets from the processed [`AssetSource`]. Asset loads will wait until the asset processor has finished processing the requested asset.
+    /// By default, this assumes the processor _has already been run_. It will load assets from their final processed [`AssetReader`].
     ///
-    /// This should generally be used in combination with the `file_watcher` cargo feature to support hot-reloading and re-processing assets.
+    /// When developing an app, you should enable the `asset_processor` cargo feature, which will run the asset processor at startup. This should generally
+    /// be used in combination with the `file_watcher` cargo feature, which enables hot-reloading of assets that have changed. When both features are enabled,
+    /// changes to "original/source assets" will be detected, the asset will be re-processed, and then the final processed asset will be hot-reloaded in the app.  
     ///
     /// [`AssetMeta`]: crate::meta::AssetMeta
     /// [`AssetSource`]: crate::io::AssetSource
-    ProcessedDev,
+    /// [`AssetReader`]: crate::io::AssetReader
+    Processed,
 }
 
 impl Default for AssetPlugin {
@@ -146,28 +146,32 @@ impl Plugin for AssetPlugin {
                     ));
                 }
                 AssetMode::Processed => {
-                    let mut builders = app.world.resource_mut::<AssetSourceBuilders>();
-                    let sources = builders.build_sources(false, watch);
-                    app.insert_resource(AssetServer::new(
-                        sources,
-                        AssetServerMode::Processed,
-                        watch,
-                    ));
-                }
-                AssetMode::ProcessedDev => {
-                    let mut builders = app.world.resource_mut::<AssetSourceBuilders>();
-                    let processor = AssetProcessor::new(&mut builders);
-                    let mut sources = builders.build_sources(false, watch);
-                    sources.gate_on_processor(processor.data.clone());
-                    // the main asset server shares loaders with the processor asset server
-                    app.insert_resource(AssetServer::new_with_loaders(
-                        sources,
-                        processor.server().data.loaders.clone(),
-                        AssetServerMode::Processed,
-                        watch,
-                    ))
-                    .insert_resource(processor)
-                    .add_systems(Startup, AssetProcessor::start);
+                    #[cfg(feature = "asset_processor")]
+                    {
+                        let mut builders = app.world.resource_mut::<AssetSourceBuilders>();
+                        let processor = AssetProcessor::new(&mut builders);
+                        let mut sources = builders.build_sources(false, watch);
+                        sources.gate_on_processor(processor.data.clone());
+                        // the main asset server shares loaders with the processor asset server
+                        app.insert_resource(AssetServer::new_with_loaders(
+                            sources,
+                            processor.server().data.loaders.clone(),
+                            AssetServerMode::Processed,
+                            watch,
+                        ))
+                        .insert_resource(processor)
+                        .add_systems(bevy_app::Startup, AssetProcessor::start);
+                    }
+                    #[cfg(not(feature = "asset_processor"))]
+                    {
+                        let mut builders = app.world.resource_mut::<AssetSourceBuilders>();
+                        let sources = builders.build_sources(false, watch);
+                        app.insert_resource(AssetServer::new(
+                            sources,
+                            AssetServerMode::Processed,
+                            watch,
+                        ));
+                    }
                 }
             }
         }
diff --git a/crates/bevy_internal/Cargo.toml b/crates/bevy_internal/Cargo.toml
index 9644e87141acf..a7019d5461ea9 100644
--- a/crates/bevy_internal/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/bevy_internal/Cargo.toml
@@ -102,6 +102,9 @@ glam_assert = ["bevy_math/glam_assert"]
 
 default_font = ["bevy_text?/default_font"]
 
+# Enables the built-in asset processor for processed assets.
+asset_processor = ["bevy_asset?/asset_processor"]
+
 # Enables watching the filesystem for Bevy Asset hot-reloading
 file_watcher = ["bevy_asset?/file_watcher"]
 
diff --git a/docs/cargo_features.md b/docs/cargo_features.md
index fcc808036c84b..4882b3801a060 100644
--- a/docs/cargo_features.md
+++ b/docs/cargo_features.md
@@ -43,6 +43,7 @@ The default feature set enables most of the expected features of a game engine,
 |feature name|description|
 |-|-|
 |accesskit_unix|Enable AccessKit on Unix backends (currently only works with experimental screen readers and forks.)|
+|asset_processor|Enables the built-in asset processor for processed assets.|
 |async-io|Use async-io's implementation of block_on instead of futures-lite's implementation. This is preferred if your application uses async-io.|
 |basis-universal|Basis Universal compressed texture support|
 |bevy_ci_testing|Enable systems that allow for automated testing on CI|
diff --git a/examples/asset/processing/processing.rs b/examples/asset/processing/processing.rs
index b0b3912b5a471..eeba092372495 100644
--- a/examples/asset/processing/processing.rs
+++ b/examples/asset/processing/processing.rs
@@ -17,18 +17,19 @@ use thiserror::Error;
 
 fn main() {
     App::new()
-        // Enabling `processed_dev` will configure the AssetPlugin to use asset processing.
-        // This will run the AssetProcessor in the background, which will listen for changes to
-        // the `assets` folder, run them through configured asset processors, and write the results
-        // to the `imported_assets` folder.
+        // Using the "processed" mode will configure the AssetPlugin to use asset processing.
+        // If you also enable the `asset_processor` cargo feature, this will run the AssetProcessor
+        // in the background, run them through configured asset processors, and write the results to
+        // the `imported_assets` folder. If you also enable the `file_watcher` cargo feature, changes to the
+        // source assets will be detected and they will be reprocessed.
         //
         // The AssetProcessor will create `.meta` files automatically for assets in the `assets` folder,
         // which can then be used to configure how the asset will be processed.
         .add_plugins((
             DefaultPlugins.set(AssetPlugin {
+                mode: AssetMode::Processed,
                 // This is just overriding the default paths to scope this to the correct example folder
                 // You can generally skip this in your own projects
-                mode: AssetMode::ProcessedDev,
                 file_path: "examples/asset/processing/assets".to_string(),
                 processed_file_path: "examples/asset/processing/imported_assets/Default"
                     .to_string(),