diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index bc680f8469..608c3b8d7b 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -2414,6 +2414,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "mutable_batch_lp",
  "object_store",
  "observability_deps",
+ "once_cell",
  "parquet_file",
  "schema",
  "sharder",
diff --git a/iox_tests/Cargo.toml b/iox_tests/Cargo.toml
index a5114965ed..7a055e50d8 100644
--- a/iox_tests/Cargo.toml
+++ b/iox_tests/Cargo.toml
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ metric = { path = "../metric" }
 mutable_batch_lp = { path = "../mutable_batch_lp" }
 object_store = "0.3.0"
 observability_deps = { path = "../observability_deps" }
+once_cell = { version = "1.13.0", features = ["parking_lot"] }
 parquet_file = { path = "../parquet_file" }
 iox_query = { path = "../iox_query" }
 schema = { path = "../schema" }
diff --git a/iox_tests/src/util.rs b/iox_tests/src/util.rs
index e0e696c30d..9e5f61b644 100644
--- a/iox_tests/src/util.rs
+++ b/iox_tests/src/util.rs
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ use iox_time::{MockProvider, Time, TimeProvider};
 use mutable_batch_lp::test_helpers::lp_to_mutable_batch;
 use object_store::{memory::InMemory, DynObjectStore};
 use observability_deps::tracing::debug;
+use once_cell::sync::Lazy;
 use parquet_file::{metadata::IoxMetadata, storage::ParquetStorage};
 use schema::{
     selection::Selection,
@@ -29,6 +30,9 @@ use schema::{
 use std::sync::Arc;
 use uuid::Uuid;
 
+/// Global executor used by all test catalogs.
+static GLOBAL_EXEC: Lazy<Arc<Executor>> = Lazy::new(|| Arc::new(Executor::new(1)));
+
 /// Catalog for tests
 #[derive(Debug)]
 #[allow(missing_docs)]
@@ -42,12 +46,21 @@ pub struct TestCatalog {
 
 impl TestCatalog {
     /// Initialize the catalog
+    ///
+    /// All test catalogs use the same [`Executor`]. Use [`with_exec`](Self::with_exec) if you need a special or
+    /// dedicated executor.
     pub fn new() -> Arc<Self> {
+        let exec = Arc::clone(&GLOBAL_EXEC);
+
+        Self::with_exec(exec)
+    }
+
+    /// Initialize with given executor.
+    pub fn with_exec(exec: Arc<Executor>) -> Arc<Self> {
         let metric_registry = Arc::new(metric::Registry::new());
         let catalog: Arc<dyn Catalog> = Arc::new(MemCatalog::new(Arc::clone(&metric_registry)));
         let object_store = Arc::new(InMemory::new());
         let time_provider = Arc::new(MockProvider::new(Time::from_timestamp(0, 0)));
-        let exec = Arc::new(Executor::new(1));
 
         Arc::new(Self {
             metric_registry,
diff --git a/query_tests/src/runner.rs b/query_tests/src/runner.rs
index 3195a23ac1..672a337b51 100644
--- a/query_tests/src/runner.rs
+++ b/query_tests/src/runner.rs
@@ -5,16 +5,12 @@ mod setup;
 
 use arrow::record_batch::RecordBatch;
 use arrow_util::{display::pretty_format_batches, test_util::sort_record_batch};
-use iox_query::{
-    exec::{Executor, ExecutorType},
-    frontend::sql::SqlQueryPlanner,
-};
+use iox_query::frontend::sql::SqlQueryPlanner;
 use snafu::{OptionExt, ResultExt, Snafu};
 use std::{
     io::LineWriter,
     io::Write,
     path::{Path, PathBuf},
-    sync::Arc,
 };
 
 use self::{
@@ -22,7 +18,6 @@ use self::{
     setup::TestSetup,
 };
 use crate::scenarios::{DbScenario, DbSetup};
-use iox_query::exec::ExecutorConfig;
 
 #[allow(clippy::enum_variant_names)]
 #[derive(Debug, Snafu)]
@@ -276,14 +271,7 @@ impl<W: Write> Runner<W> {
             writeln!(self.log, "Running scenario '{}'", scenario_name)?;
             writeln!(self.log, "SQL: '{:#?}'", sql)?;
             let planner = SqlQueryPlanner::default();
-            let executor = Arc::new(Executor::new_with_config(ExecutorConfig {
-                num_threads: 1,
-                target_query_partitions: 4,
-            }));
-            let ctx = executor
-                .new_execution_config(ExecutorType::Query)
-                .with_default_catalog(db.as_catalog_provider_arc())
-                .build();
+            let ctx = db.new_query_context(None);
 
             let physical_plan = planner
                 .query(sql, &ctx)
diff --git a/query_tests/src/scenarios/util.rs b/query_tests/src/scenarios/util.rs
index d5160551a1..10309c67b9 100644
--- a/query_tests/src/scenarios/util.rs
+++ b/query_tests/src/scenarios/util.rs
@@ -21,9 +21,11 @@ use ingester::{
     querier_handler::prepare_data_to_querier,
 };
 use iox_catalog::interface::get_schema_by_name;
+use iox_query::exec::{Executor, ExecutorConfig};
 use iox_tests::util::{TestCatalog, TestNamespace, TestSequencer};
 use itertools::Itertools;
 use mutable_batch_lp::LinesConverter;
+use once_cell::sync::Lazy;
 use parquet_file::storage::ParquetStorage;
 use querier::{
     IngesterConnectionImpl, IngesterFlightClient, IngesterFlightClientError,
@@ -638,10 +640,20 @@ struct MockIngester {
     sequence_counter: i64,
 }
 
+/// Query-test specific executor with static properties that may be relevant for the query optimizer and therefore may
+/// change `EXPLAIN` plans.
+static GLOBAL_EXEC: Lazy<Arc<Executor>> = Lazy::new(|| {
+    Arc::new(Executor::new_with_config(ExecutorConfig {
+        num_threads: 1,
+        target_query_partitions: 4,
+    }))
+});
+
 impl MockIngester {
     /// Create new empty ingester.
     async fn new() -> Self {
-        let catalog = TestCatalog::new();
+        let exec = Arc::clone(&GLOBAL_EXEC);
+        let catalog = TestCatalog::with_exec(exec);
         let ns = catalog.create_namespace("test_db").await;
         let sequencer = ns.create_sequencer(1).await;