diff --git a/pkg/action/dependency.go b/pkg/action/dependency.go
index 03c370c8e..9e932b50c 100644
--- a/pkg/action/dependency.go
+++ b/pkg/action/dependency.go
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@ import (
 // It provides the implementation of 'helm dependency' and its respective subcommands.
 type Dependency struct {
 	Verify                bool
+	Untar                 bool
 	Keyring               string
 	SkipRefresh           bool
 	ColumnWidth           uint
diff --git a/pkg/cmd/dependency.go b/pkg/cmd/dependency.go
index 34bbff6be..b1f4b2273 100644
--- a/pkg/cmd/dependency.go
+++ b/pkg/cmd/dependency.go
@@ -133,4 +133,5 @@ func addDependencySubcommandFlags(f *pflag.FlagSet, client *action.Dependency) {
 	f.BoolVar(&client.InsecureSkipTLSverify, "insecure-skip-tls-verify", false, "skip tls certificate checks for the chart download")
 	f.BoolVar(&client.PlainHTTP, "plain-http", false, "use insecure HTTP connections for the chart download")
 	f.StringVar(&client.CaFile, "ca-file", "", "verify certificates of HTTPS-enabled servers using this CA bundle")
+	f.BoolVar(&client.Untar, "untar", false, "if set to true, will untar the chart after downloading it")
 }
diff --git a/pkg/cmd/dependency_update.go b/pkg/cmd/dependency_update.go
index 921e5ef49..86491982b 100644
--- a/pkg/cmd/dependency_update.go
+++ b/pkg/cmd/dependency_update.go
@@ -69,6 +69,7 @@ func newDependencyUpdateCmd(_ *action.Configuration, out io.Writer) *cobra.Comma
 				ChartPath:        chartpath,
 				Keyring:          client.Keyring,
 				SkipUpdate:       client.SkipRefresh,
+				Untar:            client.Untar,
 				Getters:          getter.All(settings),
 				RegistryClient:   registryClient,
 				RepositoryConfig: settings.RepositoryConfig,
diff --git a/pkg/cmd/dependency_update_test.go b/pkg/cmd/dependency_update_test.go
index 9646c6816..44cbe296e 100644
--- a/pkg/cmd/dependency_update_test.go
+++ b/pkg/cmd/dependency_update_test.go
@@ -147,6 +147,19 @@ func TestDependencyUpdateCmd(t *testing.T) {
 	if _, err := os.Stat(expect); err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
+
+	// When using `--untar`, ./charts/*.tgz should not exist
+	_, _, err = executeActionCommand(
+		fmt.Sprintf("dependency update '%s' --repository-config %s --repository-cache %s --untar", dir(chartname), dir("repositories.yaml"), dir()),
+	)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	// Make sure the actual file is downloaded and untar
+	expect = dir(chartname, "charts/reqtest")
+	if _, err := os.Stat(expect); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
 }
 
 func TestDependencyUpdateCmd_DoNotDeleteOldChartsOnError(t *testing.T) {
@@ -236,7 +249,6 @@ func TestDependencyUpdateCmd_WithRepoThatWasNotAdded(t *testing.T) {
 		fmt.Sprintf("dependency update '%s' --repository-config %s --repository-cache %s", dir(chartname),
 			dir("repositories.yaml"), dir()),
 	)
-
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Logf("Output: %s", out)
 		t.Fatal(err)
diff --git a/pkg/downloader/manager.go b/pkg/downloader/manager.go
index b43165975..999e11c51 100644
--- a/pkg/downloader/manager.go
+++ b/pkg/downloader/manager.go
@@ -75,6 +75,7 @@ type Manager struct {
 	RegistryClient   *registry.Client
 	RepositoryConfig string
 	RepositoryCache  string
+	Untar            bool
 }
 
 // Build rebuilds a local charts directory from a lockfile.
@@ -357,6 +358,10 @@ func (m *Manager) downloadAll(deps []*chart.Dependency) error {
 			break
 		}
 
+		if m.Untar {
+			chartutil.ExpandFile(m.ChartPath+"/charts/", tmpPath)
+		}
+
 		churls[churl] = struct{}{}
 	}
 
@@ -498,7 +503,6 @@ Loop:
 // in a known repo and attempt to ensure the data is present for steps like
 // version resolution.
 func (m *Manager) ensureMissingRepos(repoNames map[string]string, deps []*chart.Dependency) (map[string]string, error) {
-
 	var ru []*repo.Entry
 
 	for _, dd := range deps {
@@ -675,7 +679,6 @@ func dedupeRepos(repos []*repo.Entry) []*repo.Entry {
 }
 
 func (m *Manager) parallelRepoUpdate(repos []*repo.Entry) error {
-
 	var wg sync.WaitGroup
 
 	localRepos := dedupeRepos(repos)