diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index 37d2f6d3e..cb1d78f22 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -166,7 +166,6 @@ polars = { version = "0.43", features = [
     "performant",
     "pivot",
     "semi_anti_join",
-    "serde",
     "serde-lazy",
     "sql",
     "streaming",
diff --git a/contrib/completions/examples/qsv.bash b/contrib/completions/examples/qsv.bash
index 50b3a4056..5b2dc9cc2 100644
--- a/contrib/completions/examples/qsv.bash
+++ b/contrib/completions/examples/qsv.bash
@@ -3756,7 +3756,7 @@ _qsv() {
             return 0
             ;;
         qsv__sqlp)
-            opts="-h --format --try-parsedates --infer-len --streaming --low-memory --no-optimizations --truncate-ragged-lines --ignore-errors --rnull-values --decimal-comma --datetime-format --date-format --time-format --float-precision --wnull-value --compression --compress-level --statistics --output --delimiter --quiet --help"
+            opts="-h --format --try-parsedates --infer-len --cache-schema --streaming --low-memory --no-optimizations --truncate-ragged-lines --ignore-errors --rnull-values --decimal-comma --datetime-format --date-format --time-format --float-precision --wnull-value --compression --compress-level --statistics --output --delimiter --quiet --help"
             if [[ ${cur} == -* || ${COMP_CWORD} -eq 2 ]] ; then
                 COMPREPLY=( $(compgen -W "${opts}" -- "${cur}") )
                 return 0
diff --git a/contrib/completions/examples/qsv.elv b/contrib/completions/examples/qsv.elv
index 1b808240b..4c6aff843 100644
--- a/contrib/completions/examples/qsv.elv
+++ b/contrib/completions/examples/qsv.elv
@@ -1398,6 +1398,7 @@ set edit:completion:arg-completer[qsv] = {|@words|
             cand --format 'format'
             cand --try-parsedates 'try-parsedates'
             cand --infer-len 'infer-len'
+            cand --cache-schema 'cache-schema'
             cand --streaming 'streaming'
             cand --low-memory 'low-memory'
             cand --no-optimizations 'no-optimizations'
diff --git a/contrib/completions/examples/qsv.fig.js b/contrib/completions/examples/qsv.fig.js
index 7cb8238cf..9d56c217a 100644
--- a/contrib/completions/examples/qsv.fig.js
+++ b/contrib/completions/examples/qsv.fig.js
@@ -3404,6 +3404,9 @@ const completion: Fig.Spec = {
         {
           name: "--infer-len",
         },
+        {
+          name: "--cache-schema",
+        },
         {
           name: "--streaming",
         },
diff --git a/contrib/completions/examples/qsv.fish b/contrib/completions/examples/qsv.fish
index 4254f968e..0e82b0897 100644
--- a/contrib/completions/examples/qsv.fish
+++ b/contrib/completions/examples/qsv.fish
@@ -1076,6 +1076,7 @@ complete -c qsv -n "__fish_qsv_using_subcommand split" -s h -l help -d 'Print he
 complete -c qsv -n "__fish_qsv_using_subcommand sqlp" -l format
 complete -c qsv -n "__fish_qsv_using_subcommand sqlp" -l try-parsedates
 complete -c qsv -n "__fish_qsv_using_subcommand sqlp" -l infer-len
+complete -c qsv -n "__fish_qsv_using_subcommand sqlp" -l cache-schema
 complete -c qsv -n "__fish_qsv_using_subcommand sqlp" -l streaming
 complete -c qsv -n "__fish_qsv_using_subcommand sqlp" -l low-memory
 complete -c qsv -n "__fish_qsv_using_subcommand sqlp" -l no-optimizations
diff --git a/contrib/completions/examples/qsv.nu b/contrib/completions/examples/qsv.nu
index 9d26930f7..2e32d7eb1 100644
--- a/contrib/completions/examples/qsv.nu
+++ b/contrib/completions/examples/qsv.nu
@@ -1306,6 +1306,7 @@ module completions {
     --format
     --try-parsedates
     --infer-len
+    --cache-schema
     --streaming
     --low-memory
     --no-optimizations
diff --git a/contrib/completions/examples/qsv.ps1 b/contrib/completions/examples/qsv.ps1
index 625b8dddd..4196389f4 100644
--- a/contrib/completions/examples/qsv.ps1
+++ b/contrib/completions/examples/qsv.ps1
@@ -1524,6 +1524,7 @@ Register-ArgumentCompleter -Native -CommandName 'qsv' -ScriptBlock {
             [CompletionResult]::new('--format', 'format', [CompletionResultType]::ParameterName, 'format')
             [CompletionResult]::new('--try-parsedates', 'try-parsedates', [CompletionResultType]::ParameterName, 'try-parsedates')
             [CompletionResult]::new('--infer-len', 'infer-len', [CompletionResultType]::ParameterName, 'infer-len')
+            [CompletionResult]::new('--cache-schema', 'cache-schema', [CompletionResultType]::ParameterName, 'cache-schema')
             [CompletionResult]::new('--streaming', 'streaming', [CompletionResultType]::ParameterName, 'streaming')
             [CompletionResult]::new('--low-memory', 'low-memory', [CompletionResultType]::ParameterName, 'low-memory')
             [CompletionResult]::new('--no-optimizations', 'no-optimizations', [CompletionResultType]::ParameterName, 'no-optimizations')
diff --git a/contrib/completions/examples/qsv.zsh b/contrib/completions/examples/qsv.zsh
index 378efafb7..ad63a26e6 100644
--- a/contrib/completions/examples/qsv.zsh
+++ b/contrib/completions/examples/qsv.zsh
@@ -1686,6 +1686,7 @@ _arguments "${_arguments_options[@]}" : \
 '--format[]' \
 '--try-parsedates[]' \
 '--infer-len[]' \
+'--cache-schema[]' \
 '--streaming[]' \
 '--low-memory[]' \
 '--no-optimizations[]' \
diff --git a/contrib/completions/src/cmd/sqlp.rs b/contrib/completions/src/cmd/sqlp.rs
index 36945ff8f..3afd145d8 100644
--- a/contrib/completions/src/cmd/sqlp.rs
+++ b/contrib/completions/src/cmd/sqlp.rs
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ pub fn sqlp_cmd() -> Command {
         arg!(--format),
         arg!(--"try-parsedates"),
         arg!(--"infer-len"),
+        arg!(--"cache-schema"),
         arg!(--streaming),
         arg!(--"low-memory"),
         arg!(--"no-optimizations"),
diff --git a/src/cmd/sqlp.rs b/src/cmd/sqlp.rs
index 9b06155c4..c7ea563fa 100644
--- a/src/cmd/sqlp.rs
+++ b/src/cmd/sqlp.rs
@@ -187,6 +187,14 @@ sqlp options:
     --infer-len <arg>         The number of rows to scan when inferring the schema of the CSV.
                               Set to 0 to do a full table scan (warning: can be slow).
                               [default: 10000]
+    --cache-schema            Create and cache Polars schema JSON files.
+                              If specified and the schema file/s do not exist, it will save the
+                              inferred schemas in JSON format. Each schema file will have the same
+                              file stem as the corresponding input file, with the extension ".pschema.json"
+                              (data.csv's Polars schema file will be data.pschema.json)
+                              If the file/s exists, it will load the schema instead of inferring it
+                              (ignoring --infer-len) and attempt to use it for each corresponding
+                              Polars "table" with the same file stem.
     --streaming               Use streaming mode when parsing CSVs. This will use less memory
                               but will be slower. Only use this when you get out of memory errors.
     --low-memory              Use low memory mode when parsing CSVs. This will use less memory
@@ -257,7 +265,7 @@ use std::{
     env,
     fs::File,
     io,
-    io::{Read, Write},
+    io::{BufReader, BufWriter, Read, Write},
     path::{Path, PathBuf},
     str::FromStr,
     time::Instant,
@@ -267,9 +275,9 @@ use polars::{
     datatypes::PlSmallStr,
     io::avro::{AvroWriter, Compression as AvroCompression},
     prelude::{
-        CsvWriter, DataFrame, GzipLevel, IpcCompression, IpcWriter, JsonFormat, JsonWriter,
+        Arc, CsvWriter, DataFrame, GzipLevel, IpcCompression, IpcWriter, JsonFormat, JsonWriter,
         LazyCsvReader, LazyFileListReader, NullValues, OptFlags, ParquetCompression, ParquetWriter,
-        SerWriter, StatisticsOptions, ZstdLevel,
+        Schema, SerWriter, StatisticsOptions, ZstdLevel,
     },
     sql::SQLContext,
 };
@@ -294,6 +302,7 @@ struct Args {
     flag_format:                String,
     flag_try_parsedates:        bool,
     flag_infer_len:             usize,
+    flag_cache_schema:          bool,
     flag_streaming:             bool,
     flag_low_memory:            bool,
     flag_no_optimizations:      bool,
@@ -677,6 +686,7 @@ pub fn run(argv: &[&str]) -> CliResult<()> {
         && !args.flag_no_optimizations
         && !args.flag_try_parsedates
         && args.flag_infer_len == 10_000 // make sure this matches the usage text default
+        && !args.flag_cache_schema
         && !args.flag_streaming
         && !args.flag_low_memory
         && !args.flag_truncate_ragged_lines
@@ -713,12 +723,18 @@ pub fn run(argv: &[&str]) -> CliResult<()> {
             log::debug!("Using fast path - Modified Query: {modified_query}");
         }
     } else {
+        // --------------------------------------------
+        // we have more than one input and/or we are using CSV parsing options, so we need to
+        // parse the CSV first, and register the input files as tables in the SQL context
+        // AKA the "slow path"
+        // --------------------------------------------
+
         if debuglog_flag {
-            // Using the slow path to read and parse the CSV/s into tables in the SQL context.
             log::debug!("Using the slow path...");
         }
-        // we have more than one input and/or we are using CSV parsing options, so we need to
-        // parse the CSV first, and register the input files as tables in the SQL context
+
+        let cache_schemas = args.flag_cache_schema;
+
         for (idx, table) in args.arg_input.iter().enumerate() {
             // as we are using the table name as alias, we need to make sure that the table name is
             // a valid identifier. if its not utf8, we use the lossy version
@@ -738,20 +754,77 @@ pub fn run(argv: &[&str]) -> CliResult<()> {
                     alias = table_aliases.get(table_name).unwrap(),
                 );
             }
-            let lf = LazyCsvReader::new(table)
-                .with_has_header(true)
-                .with_missing_is_null(true)
-                .with_comment_prefix(comment_char.clone())
-                .with_null_values(Some(NullValues::AllColumns(rnull_values.clone())))
-                .with_separator(tsvssv_delim(table, delim))
-                .with_infer_schema_length(Some(args.flag_infer_len))
-                .with_try_parse_dates(args.flag_try_parsedates)
-                .with_ignore_errors(args.flag_ignore_errors)
-                .with_truncate_ragged_lines(args.flag_truncate_ragged_lines)
-                .with_decimal_comma(args.flag_decimal_comma)
-                .with_low_memory(args.flag_low_memory)
-                .finish()?;
-            ctx.register(table_name, lf.with_optimizations(optflags));
+
+            // we build the lazyframe, accounting for the --cache-schema flag
+            let mut create_schema = cache_schemas;
+            let mut lf = if cache_schemas {
+                let mut work_lf = LazyCsvReader::new(table)
+                    .with_has_header(true)
+                    .with_missing_is_null(true)
+                    .with_comment_prefix(comment_char.clone())
+                    .with_null_values(Some(NullValues::AllColumns(rnull_values.clone())))
+                    .with_separator(tsvssv_delim(table, delim))
+                    .with_try_parse_dates(args.flag_try_parsedates)
+                    .with_ignore_errors(args.flag_ignore_errors)
+                    .with_truncate_ragged_lines(args.flag_truncate_ragged_lines)
+                    .with_decimal_comma(args.flag_decimal_comma)
+                    .with_low_memory(args.flag_low_memory);
+
+                // --cache-schema is enabled, check if a valid pschema.json file exists for this
+                // table
+                let schema_file = table.canonicalize()?.with_extension("pschema.json");
+                if schema_file.exists()
+                    && schema_file.metadata()?.modified()? > table.metadata()?.modified()?
+                {
+                    // We have a valid pschema.json file - it exists and is newer than the table
+                    // load the schema and deserialize it and use it with the lazy frame
+                    let file = File::open(&schema_file)?;
+                    let mut buf_reader = BufReader::new(file);
+                    let mut schema_json = String::with_capacity(100);
+                    buf_reader.read_to_string(&mut schema_json)?;
+                    let schema: Schema = serde_json::from_str(&schema_json)?;
+                    if debuglog_flag {
+                        log::debug!("Loaded schema from file: {}", schema_file.display());
+                    }
+                    work_lf = work_lf.with_schema(Some(Arc::new(schema)));
+                    create_schema = false;
+                } else {
+                    // there is no valid pschema.json file, infer the schema using --infer-len
+                    work_lf = work_lf.with_infer_schema_length(Some(args.flag_infer_len));
+                    create_schema = true;
+                }
+                work_lf.finish()?
+            } else {
+                // --cache-schema is not enabled, we always --infer-len schema
+                LazyCsvReader::new(table)
+                    .with_has_header(true)
+                    .with_missing_is_null(true)
+                    .with_comment_prefix(comment_char.clone())
+                    .with_null_values(Some(NullValues::AllColumns(rnull_values.clone())))
+                    .with_separator(tsvssv_delim(table, delim))
+                    .with_infer_schema_length(Some(args.flag_infer_len))
+                    .with_try_parse_dates(args.flag_try_parsedates)
+                    .with_ignore_errors(args.flag_ignore_errors)
+                    .with_truncate_ragged_lines(args.flag_truncate_ragged_lines)
+                    .with_decimal_comma(args.flag_decimal_comma)
+                    .with_low_memory(args.flag_low_memory)
+                    .finish()?
+            };
+            ctx.register(table_name, lf.clone().with_optimizations(optflags));
+
+            // the lazy frame's schema has been updated and --cache-schema is enabled
+            // update the pschema.json file
+            if create_schema {
+                let schema = lf.collect_schema()?;
+                let schema_json = serde_json::to_string_pretty(&schema)?;
+                let schema_file = table.canonicalize()?.with_extension("pschema.json");
+                let mut file = BufWriter::new(File::create(&schema_file)?);
+                file.write_all(schema_json.as_bytes())?;
+                file.flush()?;
+                if debuglog_flag {
+                    log::debug!("Saved schema to file: {}", schema_file.display());
+                }
+            }
         }
     }