diff --git a/compiler/noirc_frontend/src/hir_def/types.rs b/compiler/noirc_frontend/src/hir_def/types.rs
index a98c892eb34..a79af9a7630 100644
--- a/compiler/noirc_frontend/src/hir_def/types.rs
+++ b/compiler/noirc_frontend/src/hir_def/types.rs
@@ -1742,6 +1742,13 @@ impl Type {
     ) -> Result<(), UnificationError> {
         use Type::*;
 
+        // If the two types are exactly the same then they trivially unify.
+        // This check avoids potentially unifying very complex types (usually infix
+        // expressions) when they are the same.
+        if self == other {
+            return Ok(());
+        }
+
         let lhs = self.follow_bindings_shallow();
         let rhs = other.follow_bindings_shallow();
 
diff --git a/compiler/noirc_frontend/src/hir_def/types/arithmetic.rs b/compiler/noirc_frontend/src/hir_def/types/arithmetic.rs
index 5750365c62d..ce9125cd5f0 100644
--- a/compiler/noirc_frontend/src/hir_def/types/arithmetic.rs
+++ b/compiler/noirc_frontend/src/hir_def/types/arithmetic.rs
@@ -63,12 +63,15 @@ impl Type {
                 let dummy_span = Span::default();
                 // evaluate_to_field_element also calls canonicalize so if we just called
                 // `self.evaluate_to_field_element(..)` we'd get infinite recursion.
-                if let (Ok(lhs_value), Ok(rhs_value)) = (
-                    lhs.evaluate_to_field_element_helper(&kind, dummy_span, run_simplifications),
-                    rhs.evaluate_to_field_element_helper(&kind, dummy_span, run_simplifications),
-                ) {
-                    if let Ok(result) = op.function(lhs_value, rhs_value, &kind, dummy_span) {
-                        return Type::Constant(result, kind);
+                if let Ok(lhs_value) =
+                    lhs.evaluate_to_field_element_helper(&kind, dummy_span, run_simplifications)
+                {
+                    if let Ok(rhs_value) =
+                        rhs.evaluate_to_field_element_helper(&kind, dummy_span, run_simplifications)
+                    {
+                        if let Ok(result) = op.function(lhs_value, rhs_value, &kind, dummy_span) {
+                            return Type::Constant(result, kind);
+                        }
                     }
                 }