diff --git a/lib/spack/spack/cmd/create.py b/lib/spack/spack/cmd/create.py
index 225285e0774adbca74ae6426824b6fd41fcfe7b5..5db0601d44e281dca6bc1d3a78d57af60bcd26a6 100644
--- a/lib/spack/spack/cmd/create.py
+++ b/lib/spack/spack/cmd/create.py
@@ -277,7 +277,7 @@ def setup_parser(subparser):
 
 class BuildSystemGuesser(object):
 
-    _choiches = {
+    _choices = {
         'autotools': AutotoolsGuess,
         'cmake': CMakeGuess,
         'scons': SconsGuess,