diff --git a/.changeset/cozy-masks-count.md b/.changeset/cozy-masks-count.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..e5286ac91216
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/cozy-masks-count.md
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+---
+'astro': minor
+---
+
+Adds support for returning a Promise from the `parser()` option of the `file()` loader
+
+This enables you to run asynchronous code such as fetching remote data or using async parsers when loading files with the Content Layer API.
+
+For example:
+
+```js
+import { defineCollection } from 'astro:content';
+import { file } from 'astro/loaders';
+
+const blog = defineCollection({
+  loader: file('src/data/blog.json', {
+    parser: async (text) => {
+      const data = JSON.parse(text);
+      
+      // Perform async operations like fetching additional data
+      const enrichedData = await fetch(`https://api.example.com/enrich`, {
+        method: 'POST',
+        body: JSON.stringify(data),
+      }).then(res => res.json());
+      
+      return enrichedData;
+    },
+  }),
+});
+
+export const collections = { blog };
+```
+
+See [the `parser()` reference documentation](https://docs.astro.build/en/reference/content-loader-reference/#parser) for more information.
diff --git a/packages/astro/src/content/loaders/file.ts b/packages/astro/src/content/loaders/file.ts
index c1b4b2a075a6..8fa9c2e8cfdc 100644
--- a/packages/astro/src/content/loaders/file.ts
+++ b/packages/astro/src/content/loaders/file.ts
@@ -7,14 +7,14 @@ import { AstroError } from '../../core/errors/index.js';
 import { posixRelative } from '../utils.js';
 import type { Loader, LoaderContext } from './types.js';
 
+type ParserOutput = Record<string, Record<string, unknown>> | Array<Record<string, unknown>>;
+
 interface FileOptions {
 	/**
 	 * the parsing function to use for this data
 	 * @default JSON.parse or yaml.load, depending on the extension of the file
 	 * */
-	parser?: (
-		text: string,
-	) => Record<string, Record<string, unknown>> | Array<Record<string, unknown>>;
+	parser?: (text: string) => Promise<ParserOutput> | ParserOutput;
 }
 
 /**
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ export function file(fileName: string, options?: FileOptions): Loader {
 
 		try {
 			const contents = await fs.readFile(filePath, 'utf-8');
-			data = parse!(contents);
+			data = await parse!(contents);
 		} catch (error: any) {
 			logger.error(`Error reading data from ${fileName}`);
 			logger.debug(error.message);
diff --git a/packages/astro/test/content-layer.test.js b/packages/astro/test/content-layer.test.js
index 0dc171ceeddf..de48bba5c907 100644
--- a/packages/astro/test/content-layer.test.js
+++ b/packages/astro/test/content-layer.test.js
@@ -114,6 +114,14 @@ describe('Content Layer', () => {
 			assert.deepEqual(ids, ['bluejay', 'robin', 'sparrow', 'cardinal', 'goldfinch']);
 		});
 
+		it('can use an async parser in `file()` loader', async () => {
+			assert.ok(json.hasOwnProperty('loaderWithAsyncParse'));
+			assert.ok(Array.isArray(json.loaderWithAsyncParse));
+
+			const ids = json.loaderWithAsyncParse.map((item) => item.data.id);
+			assert.deepEqual(ids, ['bluejay', 'robin', 'sparrow', 'cardinal', 'goldfinch']);
+		});
+
 		it('Returns yaml `file()` loader collection', async () => {
 			assert.ok(json.hasOwnProperty('yamlLoader'));
 			assert.ok(Array.isArray(json.yamlLoader));
diff --git a/packages/astro/test/fixtures/content-layer/src/content.config.ts b/packages/astro/test/fixtures/content-layer/src/content.config.ts
index d3a173ff654d..0c4d7e22c5eb 100644
--- a/packages/astro/test/fixtures/content-layer/src/content.config.ts
+++ b/packages/astro/test/fixtures/content-layer/src/content.config.ts
@@ -129,6 +129,21 @@ const birds = defineCollection({
 	}),
 });
 
+const birdsWithAsyncParse = defineCollection({
+	loader: file('src/data/birds.json', {
+		parser: async (text) => {
+			await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, 10));
+			return JSON.parse(text).birds;
+		},
+	}),
+	schema: z.object({
+		id: z.string(),
+		name: z.string(),
+		breed: z.string(),
+		age: z.number(),
+	}),
+});
+
 const plants = defineCollection({
 	loader: file('src/data/plants.csv', {
 		parser: (text) => {
@@ -270,6 +285,7 @@ export const collections = {
 	cats,
 	fish,
 	birds,
+	birdsWithAsyncParse,
 	plants,
 	numbers,
 	numbersToml,
diff --git a/packages/astro/test/fixtures/content-layer/src/pages/collections.json.js b/packages/astro/test/fixtures/content-layer/src/pages/collections.json.js
index 0eed94939599..9b83e837ce90 100644
--- a/packages/astro/test/fixtures/content-layer/src/pages/collections.json.js
+++ b/packages/astro/test/fixtures/content-layer/src/pages/collections.json.js
@@ -32,7 +32,9 @@ export async function GET() {
 	const tomlLoader = await getCollection('songs');
 
 	const nestedJsonLoader = await getCollection('birds');
-	
+
+	const loaderWithAsyncParse = await getCollection('birdsWithAsyncParse');
+
 	const csvLoader = await getCollection('plants');
 
 	const rockets = await getCollection('rockets');
@@ -63,6 +65,7 @@ export async function GET() {
 			yamlLoader,
 			tomlLoader,
 			nestedJsonLoader,
+			loaderWithAsyncParse,
 			csvLoader,
 			atlantis,
 			spacecraft: spacecraft.map(({id}) => id).sort((a, b) => a.localeCompare(b)),