diff --git a/pandas/io/parquet.py b/pandas/io/parquet.py
index 7827c3ae04d4d..3ebdd760aa0a6 100644
--- a/pandas/io/parquet.py
+++ b/pandas/io/parquet.py
@@ -25,6 +25,11 @@ def get_engine(engine):
         except ImportError:
             pass
 
+        raise ImportError("Unable to find a usable engine; "
+                          "tried using: 'pyarrow', 'fastparquet'.\n"
+                          "pyarrow or fastparquet is required for parquet "
+                          "support")
+
     if engine not in ['pyarrow', 'fastparquet']:
         raise ValueError("engine must be one of 'pyarrow', 'fastparquet'")