diff --git a/rewrite-core/src/main/java/org/openrewrite/CsvDataTableStore.java b/rewrite-core/src/main/java/org/openrewrite/CsvDataTableStore.java
index e641eece7a..d2686484c7 100644
--- a/rewrite-core/src/main/java/org/openrewrite/CsvDataTableStore.java
+++ b/rewrite-core/src/main/java/org/openrewrite/CsvDataTableStore.java
@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@
 import java.util.concurrent.ConcurrentHashMap;
 import java.util.function.Function;
 import java.util.stream.Stream;
+import java.util.stream.StreamSupport;
 
 import static org.openrewrite.internal.RecipeIntrospectionUtils.dataTableDescriptorFromDataTable;
 
@@ -223,7 +224,6 @@ private <T> Stream<T> readRows(String dataTableName, @Nullable String group, @Nu
             }
         }
 
-        List<Object> allRows = new ArrayList<>();
         //noinspection DataFlowIssue
         File[] files = outputDir.toFile().listFiles((dir, name) -> name.endsWith(fileExtension));
         if (files == null) {
@@ -237,54 +237,103 @@ private <T> Stream<T> readRows(String dataTableName, @Nullable String group, @Nu
             activeWriterPaths.add(outputDir.resolve(entry.getKey() + fileExtension));
         }
 
-        int prefixCount = prefixColumns.size();
-        int suffixCount = suffixColumns.size();
-
+        // Eagerly select the files belonging to this table by reading only their small
+        // comment header, then parse their rows lazily so a whole table's rows are never
+        // materialized in memory at once.
+        List<Path> matchingFiles = new ArrayList<>();
         for (File file : files) {
             if (activeWriterPaths.contains(file.toPath())) {
                 continue;
             }
             try (InputStream is = inputStreamFactory.apply(file.toPath())) {
                 DataTableDescriptor descriptor = readDescriptor(is);
-                if (descriptor == null ||
-                    !descriptor.getName().equals(dataTableName) ||
-                    !Objects.equals(descriptor.getGroup(), group)) {
-                    continue;
+                if (descriptor != null &&
+                    descriptor.getName().equals(dataTableName) &&
+                    Objects.equals(descriptor.getGroup(), group)) {
+                    matchingFiles.add(file.toPath());
                 }
-                // readDescriptor consumed comment lines; now parse the remaining CSV
-                // (header + data rows). Re-read the full file with CsvParser.
             } catch (IOException e) {
                 throw new UncheckedIOException(e);
             }
+        }
 
-            try (InputStream is = inputStreamFactory.apply(file.toPath())) {
-                CsvParserSettings settings = new CsvParserSettings();
-                settings.setMaxCharsPerColumn(-1);
-                settings.setHeaderExtractionEnabled(true);
-                settings.getFormat().setComment('#');
-                CsvParser parser = new CsvParser(settings);
-                parser.beginParsing(new InputStreamReader(is, StandardCharsets.UTF_8));
-
-                String[] row;
-                while ((row = parser.parseNext()) != null) {
-                    // Strip prefix and suffix columns, returning only data table columns
-                    int dataCount = row.length - prefixCount - suffixCount;
-                    String[] dataRow;
-                    if (dataCount <= 0) {
-                        dataRow = row;
-                    } else {
-                        dataRow = new String[dataCount];
-                        System.arraycopy(row, prefixCount, dataRow, 0, dataCount);
-                    }
-                    allRows.add(meta != null ? meta.toRow(dataRow) : dataRow);
-                }
-                parser.stopParsing();
-            } catch (IOException e) {
-                // Skip unreadable files
+        int prefixCount = prefixColumns.size();
+        int suffixCount = suffixColumns.size();
+
+        return matchingFiles.stream()
+                .flatMap(path -> (Stream<T>) streamRows(path, meta, prefixCount, suffixCount));
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Lazily parse a single CSV file row-by-row. The returned stream owns its input
+     * stream and parser; fully consuming the stream (or closing it) releases them.
+     * Rows are produced one at a time, so a whole table's rows are never held in
+     * memory at once.
+     */
+    private Stream<Object> streamRows(Path path, @Nullable RowMetadata meta, int prefixCount, int suffixCount) {
+        // Open and set up parsing eagerly so that open/parse failures surface to the
+        // caller exactly as the previous eager implementation did -- it caught only
+        // java.io.IOException, while the stream factories and the Univocity parser throw
+        // unchecked exceptions, so those always propagated. Only a stream-*close*
+        // IOException was swallowed there, which the onClose handler below preserves.
+        InputStream is = inputStreamFactory.apply(path);
+        CsvParser parser;
+        try {
+            CsvParserSettings settings = new CsvParserSettings();
+            settings.setMaxCharsPerColumn(-1);
+            settings.setHeaderExtractionEnabled(true);
+            settings.getFormat().setComment('#');
+            parser = new CsvParser(settings);
+            parser.beginParsing(new InputStreamReader(is, StandardCharsets.UTF_8));
+        } catch (RuntimeException e) {
+            // Avoid leaking the stream if parser setup fails before the lazy stream
+            // (and its onClose) is returned.
+            try {
+                is.close();
+            } catch (IOException ignored) {
+                // best effort
             }
+            throw e;
         }
 
-        return (Stream<T>) allRows.stream();
+        Iterator<Object> rows = new Iterator<Object>() {
+            private String @Nullable [] next = parser.parseNext();
+
+            @Override
+            public boolean hasNext() {
+                return next != null;
+            }
+
+            @Override
+            public Object next() {
+                String[] row = next;
+                if (row == null) {
+                    throw new NoSuchElementException();
+                }
+                next = parser.parseNext();
+                // Strip prefix and suffix columns, returning only data table columns
+                int dataCount = row.length - prefixCount - suffixCount;
+                String[] dataRow;
+                if (dataCount <= 0) {
+                    dataRow = row;
+                } else {
+                    dataRow = new String[dataCount];
+                    System.arraycopy(row, prefixCount, dataRow, 0, dataCount);
+                }
+                return meta != null ? meta.toRow(dataRow) : dataRow;
+            }
+        };
+
+        return StreamSupport.stream(
+                        Spliterators.spliteratorUnknownSize(rows, Spliterator.ORDERED | Spliterator.NONNULL), false)
+                .onClose(() -> {
+                    parser.stopParsing();
+                    try {
+                        is.close();
+                    } catch (IOException ignored) {
+                        // already closed by the parser at end-of-input
+                    }
+                });
     }
 
     @Override