diff --git a/src/molecule/dependency/base.py b/src/molecule/dependency/base.py
index 423cee9c6..96530dbec 100644
--- a/src/molecule/dependency/base.py
+++ b/src/molecule/dependency/base.py
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ def __init__(self, config: Config) -> None:
             config: An instance of a Molecule config.
         """
         self._config = config
-        self._sh_command: list[str] = []
+        self._sh_command: str | list[str] = []
 
     def execute_with_retries(self) -> None:
         """Run dependency downloads with retry and timed back-off."""
diff --git a/src/molecule/dependency/shell.py b/src/molecule/dependency/shell.py
index a5a216335..f1f648fea 100644
--- a/src/molecule/dependency/shell.py
+++ b/src/molecule/dependency/shell.py
@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@ def __init__(self, config: Config) -> None:
             config: Molecule Config instance.
         """
         super().__init__(config)
-        self._sh_command: list[str] = []
+        self._sh_command = ""
 
     @property
     def command(self) -> str:
@@ -105,7 +105,7 @@ def default_options(self) -> MutableMapping[str, str | bool]:
 
     def bake(self) -> None:
         """Bake a ``shell`` command so it's ready to execute."""
-        self._sh_command = [self.command]
+        self._sh_command = self.command
 
     def execute(self, action_args: list[str] | None = None) -> None:  # noqa: ARG002
         """Execute the dependency solver.
diff --git a/src/molecule/util.py b/src/molecule/util.py
index 844c012b8..dbd934da7 100644
--- a/src/molecule/util.py
+++ b/src/molecule/util.py
@@ -154,7 +154,7 @@ def sysexit_with_message(
 
 
 def run_command(  # noqa: PLR0913
-    cmd: list[str],
+    cmd: str | list[str],
     env: dict[str, str] | None = None,
     cwd: Path | None = None,
     *,