diff --git a/cmd/helm/template.go b/cmd/helm/template.go
index 36c029e69..5c1ba33d1 100644
--- a/cmd/helm/template.go
+++ b/cmd/helm/template.go
@@ -62,19 +62,13 @@ func newTemplateCmd(cfg *action.Configuration, out io.Writer) *cobra.Command {
 			client.Replace = true // Skip the name check
 			client.ClientOnly = !validate
 			client.APIVersions = chartutil.VersionSet(extraAPIs)
+			client.IncludeCRDs = includeCrds
 			rel, err := runInstall(args, client, valueOpts, out)
 			if err != nil {
 				return err
 			}
 
 			var manifests bytes.Buffer
-
-			if includeCrds {
-				for _, f := range rel.Chart.CRDs() {
-					fmt.Fprintf(&manifests, "---\n# Source: %s\n%s\n", f.Name, f.Data)
-				}
-			}
-
 			fmt.Fprintln(&manifests, strings.TrimSpace(rel.Manifest))
 
 			if !client.DisableHooks {
diff --git a/pkg/action/install.go b/pkg/action/install.go
index c4ee50857..78021dc8c 100644
--- a/pkg/action/install.go
+++ b/pkg/action/install.go
@@ -85,6 +85,7 @@ type Install struct {
 	SkipCRDs                 bool
 	SubNotes                 bool
 	DisableOpenAPIValidation bool
+	IncludeCRDs              bool
 	// APIVersions allows a manual set of supported API Versions to be passed
 	// (for things like templating). These are ignored if ClientOnly is false
 	APIVersions chartutil.VersionSet
@@ -115,12 +116,12 @@ func NewInstall(cfg *Configuration) *Install {
 	}
 }
 
-func (i *Install) installCRDs(crds []*chart.File) error {
+func (i *Install) installCRDs(crds []chart.CRD) error {
 	// We do these one file at a time in the order they were read.
 	totalItems := []*resource.Info{}
 	for _, obj := range crds {
 		// Read in the resources
-		res, err := i.cfg.KubeClient.Build(bytes.NewBuffer(obj.Data), false)
+		res, err := i.cfg.KubeClient.Build(bytes.NewBuffer(obj.File.Data), false)
 		if err != nil {
 			return errors.Wrapf(err, "failed to install CRD %s", obj.Name)
 		}
@@ -171,7 +172,7 @@ func (i *Install) Run(chrt *chart.Chart, vals map[string]interface{}) (*release.
 
 	// Pre-install anything in the crd/ directory. We do this before Helm
 	// contacts the upstream server and builds the capabilities object.
-	if crds := chrt.CRDs(); !i.ClientOnly && !i.SkipCRDs && len(crds) > 0 {
+	if crds := chrt.CRDObjects(); !i.ClientOnly && !i.SkipCRDs && len(crds) > 0 {
 		// On dry run, bail here
 		if i.DryRun {
 			i.cfg.Log("WARNING: This chart or one of its subcharts contains CRDs. Rendering may fail or contain inaccuracies.")
@@ -221,7 +222,7 @@ func (i *Install) Run(chrt *chart.Chart, vals map[string]interface{}) (*release.
 	rel := i.createRelease(chrt, vals)
 
 	var manifestDoc *bytes.Buffer
-	rel.Hooks, manifestDoc, rel.Info.Notes, err = i.cfg.renderResources(chrt, valuesToRender, i.ReleaseName, i.OutputDir, i.SubNotes, i.UseReleaseName)
+	rel.Hooks, manifestDoc, rel.Info.Notes, err = i.cfg.renderResources(chrt, valuesToRender, i.ReleaseName, i.OutputDir, i.SubNotes, i.UseReleaseName, i.IncludeCRDs)
 	// Even for errors, attach this if available
 	if manifestDoc != nil {
 		rel.Manifest = manifestDoc.String()
@@ -425,7 +426,7 @@ func (i *Install) replaceRelease(rel *release.Release) error {
 }
 
 // renderResources renders the templates in a chart
-func (c *Configuration) renderResources(ch *chart.Chart, values chartutil.Values, releaseName string, outputDir string, subNotes, useReleaseName bool) ([]*release.Hook, *bytes.Buffer, string, error) {
+func (c *Configuration) renderResources(ch *chart.Chart, values chartutil.Values, releaseName string, outputDir string, subNotes, useReleaseName bool, includeCrds bool) ([]*release.Hook, *bytes.Buffer, string, error) {
 	hs := []*release.Hook{}
 	b := bytes.NewBuffer(nil)
 
@@ -498,6 +499,21 @@ func (c *Configuration) renderResources(ch *chart.Chart, values chartutil.Values
 
 	// Aggregate all valid manifests into one big doc.
 	fileWritten := make(map[string]bool)
+
+	if includeCrds {
+		for _, crd := range ch.CRDObjects() {
+			if outputDir == "" {
+				fmt.Fprintf(b, "---\n# Source: %s\n%s\n", crd.Name, string(crd.File.Data[:]))
+			} else {
+				err = writeToFile(outputDir, crd.Filename, string(crd.File.Data[:]), fileWritten[crd.Name])
+				if err != nil {
+					return hs, b, "", err
+				}
+				fileWritten[crd.Name] = true
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
 	for _, m := range manifests {
 		if outputDir == "" {
 			fmt.Fprintf(b, "---\n# Source: %s\n%s\n", m.Name, m.Content)
diff --git a/pkg/action/upgrade.go b/pkg/action/upgrade.go
index ad3a235e6..3e8a04a56 100644
--- a/pkg/action/upgrade.go
+++ b/pkg/action/upgrade.go
@@ -161,7 +161,7 @@ func (u *Upgrade) prepareUpgrade(name string, chart *chart.Chart, vals map[strin
 		return nil, nil, err
 	}
 
-	hooks, manifestDoc, notesTxt, err := u.cfg.renderResources(chart, valuesToRender, "", "", u.SubNotes, false)
+	hooks, manifestDoc, notesTxt, err := u.cfg.renderResources(chart, valuesToRender, "", "", u.SubNotes, false, false)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, nil, err
 	}
diff --git a/pkg/chart/chart.go b/pkg/chart/chart.go
index 5eb4d4d94..1a85373b9 100644
--- a/pkg/chart/chart.go
+++ b/pkg/chart/chart.go
@@ -15,7 +15,10 @@ limitations under the License.
 
 package chart
 
-import "strings"
+import (
+	"path/filepath"
+	"strings"
+)
 
 // APIVersionV1 is the API version number for version 1.
 const APIVersionV1 = "v1"
@@ -49,6 +52,15 @@ type Chart struct {
 	dependencies []*Chart
 }
 
+type CRD struct {
+	// Name is the File.Name for the crd file
+	Name string
+	// Filename is the File obj Name including (sub-)chart.ChartFullPath
+	Filename string
+	// File is the File obj for the crd
+	File *File
+}
+
 // SetDependencies replaces the chart dependencies.
 func (ch *Chart) SetDependencies(charts ...*Chart) {
 	ch.dependencies = nil
@@ -118,6 +130,7 @@ func (ch *Chart) AppVersion() string {
 }
 
 // CRDs returns a list of File objects in the 'crds/' directory of a Helm chart.
+// Deprecated: use CRDObjects()
 func (ch *Chart) CRDs() []*File {
 	files := []*File{}
 	// Find all resources in the crds/ directory
@@ -132,3 +145,20 @@ func (ch *Chart) CRDs() []*File {
 	}
 	return files
 }
+
+// CRDObjects returns a list of CRD objects in the 'crds/' directory of a Helm chart & subcharts
+func (ch *Chart) CRDObjects() []CRD {
+	crds := []CRD{}
+	// Find all resources in the crds/ directory
+	for _, f := range ch.Files {
+		if strings.HasPrefix(f.Name, "crds/") {
+			mycrd := CRD{Name: f.Name, Filename: filepath.Join(ch.ChartFullPath(), f.Name), File: f}
+			crds = append(crds, mycrd)
+		}
+	}
+	// Get CRDs from dependencies, too.
+	for _, dep := range ch.Dependencies() {
+		crds = append(crds, dep.CRDObjects()...)
+	}
+	return crds
+}