diff --git a/src/rocker/templates/install_pkgs_snippet.Dockerfile.em b/src/rocker/templates/install_pkgs_snippet.Dockerfile.em
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..30c0106
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/rocker/templates/install_pkgs_snippet.Dockerfile.em
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+# User specified additional packages
+RUN export DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive; \
+    apt-get update \
+    @# List each package specified in packages list
+    && apt-get install -y @[for package in packages] @package @[end for] \
+    # Clean
+    && apt-get clean