diff --git a/esphome/components/esp32/__init__.py b/esphome/components/esp32/__init__.py
index 8ea08b37d2..b0290d7a84 100644
--- a/esphome/components/esp32/__init__.py
+++ b/esphome/components/esp32/__init__.py
@@ -246,7 +246,7 @@ DEFAULT_EXCLUDED_IDF_COMPONENTS = (
     "esp_https_server",  # HTTPS server - ESPHome has its own web server
     "esp_lcd",  # LCD controller drivers - only needed by display component
     "esp_local_ctrl",  # Local control over HTTPS/BLE - ESPHome has native API
-    "esp_phy",  # RF PHY - esp_wifi/bt/ieee802154 pull it back when they are in the build
+    "esp_phy",  # RF PHY - re-included by internal_temperature on the original ESP32; esp_wifi/bt/ieee802154 pull it back
     "esp_wifi",  # WiFi stack - re-included by request_wifi(), espnow; bt pulls it back for BLE builds
     "espcoredump",  # Core dump support - ESPHome has its own debug component
     "fatfs",  # FAT filesystem - ESPHome doesn't use filesystem storage
diff --git a/esphome/components/internal_temperature/sensor.py b/esphome/components/internal_temperature/sensor.py
index d3101f4a7c..40ac216f0c 100644
--- a/esphome/components/internal_temperature/sensor.py
+++ b/esphome/components/internal_temperature/sensor.py
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
 import esphome.codegen as cg
 from esphome.components import sensor
+from esphome.components.esp32 import get_esp32_variant, include_builtin_idf_component
+from esphome.components.esp32.const import VARIANT_ESP32
 from esphome.components.zephyr import zephyr_add_prj_conf
 from esphome.config_helpers import filter_source_files_from_platform
 import esphome.config_validation as cv
@@ -48,6 +50,10 @@ async def to_code(config: ConfigType) -> None:
     var = await sensor.new_sensor(config)
     await cg.register_component(var, config)
 
+    if CORE.is_esp32 and get_esp32_variant() == VARIANT_ESP32:
+        # temprature_sens_read() lives in the esp_phy blob, which is excluded by default
+        include_builtin_idf_component("esp_phy")
+
     if CORE.using_zephyr and CORE.is_nrf52:
         zephyr_add_prj_conf("SENSOR", True)
         zephyr_add_prj_conf("TEMP_NRF5", True)
diff --git a/tests/component_tests/esp32/config/exclusion_reincludes_internal_temperature.yaml b/tests/component_tests/esp32/config/exclusion_reincludes_internal_temperature.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..d5a0aaf157
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/component_tests/esp32/config/exclusion_reincludes_internal_temperature.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+esphome:
+  name: test
+
+esp32:
+  board: esp32dev
+  framework:
+    type: esp-idf
+
+sensor:
+  - platform: internal_temperature
+    name: Internal Temperature
diff --git a/tests/component_tests/esp32/config/exclusion_stays_internal_temperature_s3.yaml b/tests/component_tests/esp32/config/exclusion_stays_internal_temperature_s3.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..6d4dbf90b5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/component_tests/esp32/config/exclusion_stays_internal_temperature_s3.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+esphome:
+  name: test
+
+esp32:
+  board: esp32-s3-devkitc-1
+  framework:
+    type: esp-idf
+
+sensor:
+  - platform: internal_temperature
+    name: Internal Temperature
diff --git a/tests/component_tests/esp32/test_esp32.py b/tests/component_tests/esp32/test_esp32.py
index c72c4c3a6b..db7ed6b3fc 100644
--- a/tests/component_tests/esp32/test_esp32.py
+++ b/tests/component_tests/esp32/test_esp32.py
@@ -313,6 +313,12 @@ def test_esp32_configuration_errors(
             ("esp_wifi",),
             id="espnow",
         ),
+        pytest.param(
+            # temprature_sens_read() on the original ESP32 lives in the esp_phy blob.
+            "exclusion_reincludes_internal_temperature.yaml",
+            ("esp_phy",),
+            id="internal_temperature",
+        ),
     ],
 )
 def test_default_exclusions_reincluded_by_owning_components(
@@ -337,6 +343,15 @@ def test_default_exclusions_reincluded_by_owning_components(
     assert ("esp_http_server" in excluded) == ("esp_http_server" not in reincluded)
 
 
+def test_esp_phy_stays_excluded_for_internal_temperature_on_newer_variants(
+    generate_main: Callable[[str | Path], str],
+    component_config_path: Callable[[str], Path],
+) -> None:
+    """Only the original ESP32 reads the PHY blob; other variants use esp_driver_tsens."""
+    generate_main(component_config_path("exclusion_stays_internal_temperature_s3.yaml"))
+    assert "esp_phy" in CORE.data[KEY_ESP32][KEY_EXCLUDE_COMPONENTS]
+
+
 def test_nvs_sec_provider_stays_excluded_when_encryption_is_off(
     generate_main: Callable[[str | Path], str],
     component_config_path: Callable[[str], Path],