diff --git a/core/prelude-editor.el b/core/prelude-editor.el
index 038d2c5..9a31dd7 100644
--- a/core/prelude-editor.el
+++ b/core/prelude-editor.el
@@ -153,6 +153,15 @@ Will only occur if prelude-whitespace is also enabled."
 (setq recentf-save-file (expand-file-name "recentf" prelude-savefile-dir)
       recentf-max-saved-items 500
       recentf-max-menu-items 15)
+
+(defun prelude-recentf-exclude-p (file)
+  "A predicate to decide whether to exclude FILE from recentf."
+  (let ((file-dir (file-truename (file-name-directory file))))
+    (-any-p (lambda (dir)
+              (string-prefix-p dir file-dir))
+            (mapcar 'file-truename (list prelude-savefile-dir package-user-dir)))))
+
+(add-to-list 'recentf-exclude 'prelude-recentf-exclude-p)
 (recentf-mode +1)
 
 ;; use shift + arrow keys to switch between visible buffers