diff --git a/packages/next/src/server/lib/utils.test.ts b/packages/next/src/server/lib/utils.test.ts
index fca2e0d7c5eae7..8fc199d834338d 100644
--- a/packages/next/src/server/lib/utils.test.ts
+++ b/packages/next/src/server/lib/utils.test.ts
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ import {
   getFormattedNodeOptionsWithoutInspect,
   getParsedDebugAddress,
   formatNodeOptions,
+  tokenizeArgs,
 } from './utils'
 
 const originalNodeOptions = process.env.NODE_OPTIONS
@@ -10,6 +11,34 @@ afterAll(() => {
   process.env.NODE_OPTIONS = originalNodeOptions
 })
 
+describe('tokenizeArgs', () => {
+  it('splits arguments by spaces', () => {
+    const result = tokenizeArgs('--spaces "thing with spaces" --normal 1234')
+
+    expect(result).toEqual([
+      '--spaces',
+      'thing with spaces',
+      '--normal',
+      '1234',
+    ])
+  })
+
+  it('supports quoted values', () => {
+    const result = tokenizeArgs(
+      '--spaces "thing with spaces" --spacesAndQuotes "thing with \\"spaces\\"" --normal 1234'
+    )
+
+    expect(result).toEqual([
+      '--spaces',
+      'thing with spaces',
+      '--spacesAndQuotes',
+      'thing with "spaces"',
+      '--normal',
+      '1234',
+    ])
+  })
+})
+
 describe('formatNodeOptions', () => {
   it('wraps values with spaces in quotes', () => {
     const result = formatNodeOptions({
@@ -63,6 +92,16 @@ describe('getFormattedNodeOptionsWithoutInspect', () => {
     )
   })
 
+  it('handles options with quotes', () => {
+    process.env.NODE_OPTIONS =
+      '--require "./file with spaces to-require-with-node-require-option.js"'
+    const result = getFormattedNodeOptionsWithoutInspect()
+
+    expect(result).toBe(
+      '--require="./file with spaces to-require-with-node-require-option.js"'
+    )
+  })
+
   it('removes --inspect option with parameters', () => {
     process.env.NODE_OPTIONS = '--other --inspect=0.0.0.0:1234 --additional'
     const result = getFormattedNodeOptionsWithoutInspect()
diff --git a/packages/next/src/server/lib/utils.ts b/packages/next/src/server/lib/utils.ts
index b5dc16a18e7890..d46f36bed8a918 100644
--- a/packages/next/src/server/lib/utils.ts
+++ b/packages/next/src/server/lib/utils.ts
@@ -56,14 +56,72 @@ const parseNodeArgs = (args: string[]) => {
   return values
 }
 
+/**
+ * Tokenizes the arguments string into an array of strings, supporting quoted
+ * values and escaped characters.
+ *
+ * @param input The arguments string to be tokenized.
+ * @returns An array of strings with the tokenized arguments.
+ */
+export const tokenizeArgs = (input: string): string[] => {
+  let args: string[] = []
+  let isInString = false
+  let willStartNewArg = true
+
+  for (let i = 0; i < input.length; i++) {
+    let char = input[i]
+
+    // Skip any escaped characters in strings.
+    if (char === '\\' && isInString) {
+      // Ensure we don't have an escape character at the end.
+      if (input.length === i + 1) {
+        throw new Error('Invalid escape character at the end.')
+      }
+
+      // Skip the next character.
+      char = input[++i]
+    }
+    // If we find a space outside of a string, we should start a new argument.
+    else if (char === ' ' && !isInString) {
+      willStartNewArg = true
+      continue
+    }
+
+    // If we find a quote, we should toggle the string flag.
+    else if (char === '"') {
+      isInString = !isInString
+      continue
+    }
+
+    // If we're starting a new argument, we should add it to the array.
+    if (willStartNewArg) {
+      args.push(char)
+      willStartNewArg = false
+    }
+    // Otherwise, add it to the last argument.
+    else {
+      args[args.length - 1] += char
+    }
+  }
+
+  if (isInString) {
+    throw new Error('Unterminated string')
+  }
+
+  return args
+}
+
 /**
  * Get the node options from the environment variable `NODE_OPTIONS` and returns
  * them as an array of strings.
  *
  * @returns An array of strings with the node options.
  */
-const getNodeOptionsArgs = () =>
-  process.env.NODE_OPTIONS?.split(' ').map((arg) => arg.trim()) ?? []
+const getNodeOptionsArgs = () => {
+  if (!process.env.NODE_OPTIONS) return []
+
+  return tokenizeArgs(process.env.NODE_OPTIONS)
+}
 
 /**
  * The debug address is in the form of `[host:]port`. The host is optional.