diff --git a/packages/core/src/metadata/resource_loading.ts b/packages/core/src/metadata/resource_loading.ts
index 257c937a27..26691ce10a 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/metadata/resource_loading.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/metadata/resource_loading.ts
@@ -91,8 +91,8 @@ export function maybeQueueResolutionOfComponentResources(metadata: Component) {
   }
 }
 
-export function componentNeedsResolution(component: Component) {
-  return component.templateUrl || component.styleUrls && component.styleUrls.length;
+export function componentNeedsResolution(component: Component): boolean {
+  return !!(component.templateUrl || component.styleUrls && component.styleUrls.length);
 }
 export function clearResolutionOfComponentResourcesQueue() {
   componentResourceResolutionQueue.clear();
@@ -100,4 +100,4 @@ export function clearResolutionOfComponentResourcesQueue() {
 
 function unwrapResponse(response: string | {text(): Promise<string>}): string|Promise<string> {
   return typeof response == 'string' ? response : response.text();
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}
diff --git a/packages/core/test/test_bed_spec.ts b/packages/core/test/test_bed_spec.ts
index c76adf23e8..d1a0d2f3ae 100644
--- a/packages/core/test/test_bed_spec.ts
+++ b/packages/core/test/test_bed_spec.ts
@@ -79,6 +79,10 @@ export class ComponentWithPropBindings {
 export class SimpleApp {
 }
 
+@Component({selector: 'inline-template', template: '<p>Hello</p>'})
+export class ComponentWithInlineTemplate {
+}
+
 @NgModule({
   declarations: [
     HelloWorld, SimpleCmp, WithRefsCmp, InheritedCmp, SimpleApp, ComponentWithPropBindings,
@@ -232,6 +236,26 @@ describe('TestBed', () => {
     expect(simpleApp.nativeElement).toHaveText('simple - inherited');
   });
 
+  it('should resolve components without async resources synchronously', (done) => {
+    TestBed
+        .configureTestingModule({
+          declarations: [ComponentWithInlineTemplate],
+        })
+        .compileComponents()
+        .then(done)
+        .catch(error => {
+          // This should not throw any errors. If an error is thrown, the test will fail.
+          // Specifically use `catch` here to mark the test as done and *then* throw the error
+          // so that the test isn't treated as a timeout.
+          done();
+          throw error;
+        });
+
+    // Intentionally call `createComponent` before `compileComponents` is resolved. We want this to
+    // work for components that don't have any async resources (templateUrl, styleUrls).
+    TestBed.createComponent(ComponentWithInlineTemplate);
+  });
+
   onlyInIvy('patched ng defs should be removed after resetting TestingModule')
       .it('make sure we restore ng defs to their initial states', () => {
         @Pipe({name: 'somePipe', pure: true})
diff --git a/packages/core/testing/src/r3_test_bed.ts b/packages/core/testing/src/r3_test_bed.ts
index 5eec6ba78e..442e7b8ff1 100644
--- a/packages/core/testing/src/r3_test_bed.ts
+++ b/packages/core/testing/src/r3_test_bed.ts
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ import {
 // clang-format on
 import {ResourceLoader} from '@angular/compiler';
 
-import {clearResolutionOfComponentResourcesQueue, resolveComponentResources} from '../../src/metadata/resource_loading';
+import {clearResolutionOfComponentResourcesQueue, componentNeedsResolution, resolveComponentResources} from '../../src/metadata/resource_loading';
 import {ComponentFixture} from './component_fixture';
 import {MetadataOverride} from './metadata_override';
 import {ComponentResolver, DirectiveResolver, NgModuleResolver, PipeResolver, Resolver} from './resolvers';
@@ -374,6 +374,8 @@ export class TestBedRender3 implements Injector, TestBed {
     const declarations: Type<any>[] = flatten(this._declarations || EMPTY_ARRAY, resolveForwardRef);
 
     const componentOverrides: [Type<any>, Component][] = [];
+    let hasAsyncResources = false;
+
     // Compile the components declared by this module
     declarations.forEach(declaration => {
       const component = resolvers.component.resolve(declaration);
@@ -382,25 +384,34 @@ export class TestBedRender3 implements Injector, TestBed {
         const metadata = {...component};
         compileComponent(declaration, metadata);
         componentOverrides.push([declaration, metadata]);
+        hasAsyncResources = hasAsyncResources || componentNeedsResolution(component);
       }
     });
 
-    let resourceLoader: ResourceLoader;
+    const overrideComponents = () => {
+      componentOverrides.forEach((override: [Type<any>, Component]) => {
+        // Override the existing metadata, ensuring that the resolved resources
+        // are only available until the next TestBed reset (when `resetTestingModule` is called)
+        this.overrideComponent(override[0], {set: override[1]});
+      });
+    };
 
-    return resolveComponentResources(url => {
-             if (!resourceLoader) {
-               resourceLoader = this.compilerInjector.get(ResourceLoader);
-             }
-             return Promise.resolve(resourceLoader.get(url));
-           })
-        .then(() => {
-          componentOverrides.forEach((override: [Type<any>, Component]) => {
-            // Once resolved, we override the existing metadata, ensuring that the resolved
-            // resources
-            // are only available until the next TestBed reset (when `resetTestingModule` is called)
-            this.overrideComponent(override[0], {set: override[1]});
-          });
-        });
+    // If the component has no async resources (templateUrl, styleUrls), we can finish
+    // synchronously. This is important so that users who mistakenly treat `compileComponents`
+    // as synchronous don't encounter an error, as ViewEngine was tolerant of this.
+    if (!hasAsyncResources) {
+      overrideComponents();
+      return Promise.resolve();
+    } else {
+      let resourceLoader: ResourceLoader;
+      return resolveComponentResources(url => {
+               if (!resourceLoader) {
+                 resourceLoader = this.compilerInjector.get(ResourceLoader);
+               }
+               return Promise.resolve(resourceLoader.get(url));
+             })
+          .then(overrideComponents);
+    }
   }
 
   get(token: any, notFoundValue: any = Injector.THROW_IF_NOT_FOUND): any {