diff --git a/provisioner/chef-client/provisioner.go b/provisioner/chef-client/provisioner.go
index 572b88212..32cf12e06 100644
--- a/provisioner/chef-client/provisioner.go
+++ b/provisioner/chef-client/provisioner.go
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ import (
 type guestOSTypeConfig struct {
 	executeCommand string
 	installCommand string
+	knifeCommand   string
 	stagingDir     string
 }
 
@@ -30,11 +31,13 @@ var guestOSTypeConfigs = map[string]guestOSTypeConfig{
 	provisioner.UnixOSType: guestOSTypeConfig{
 		executeCommand: "{{if .Sudo}}sudo {{end}}chef-client --no-color -c {{.ConfigPath}} -j {{.JsonPath}}",
 		installCommand: "curl -L https://www.chef.io/chef/install.sh | {{if .Sudo}}sudo {{end}}bash",
+		knifeCommand:   "{{if .Sudo}}sudo {{end}}knife {{.Args}} {{.Flags}}",
 		stagingDir:     "/tmp/packer-chef-client",
 	},
 	provisioner.WindowsOSType: guestOSTypeConfig{
 		executeCommand: "c:/opscode/chef/bin/chef-client.bat --no-color -c {{.ConfigPath}} -j {{.JsonPath}}",
 		installCommand: "powershell.exe -Command \"(New-Object System.Net.WebClient).DownloadFile('http://chef.io/chef/install.msi', 'C:\\Windows\\Temp\\chef.msi');Start-Process 'msiexec' -ArgumentList '/qb /i C:\\Windows\\Temp\\chef.msi' -NoNewWindow -Wait\"",
+		knifeCommand:   "c:/opscode/chef/bin/knife.bat {{.Args}} {{.Flags}}",
 		stagingDir:     "C:/Windows/Temp/packer-chef-client",
 	},
 }
@@ -51,6 +54,7 @@ type Config struct {
 	ExecuteCommand             string   `mapstructure:"execute_command"`
 	GuestOSType                string   `mapstructure:"guest_os_type"`
 	InstallCommand             string   `mapstructure:"install_command"`
+	KnifeCommand               string   `mapstructure:"knife_command"`
 	NodeName                   string   `mapstructure:"node_name"`
 	PreventSudo                bool     `mapstructure:"prevent_sudo"`
 	RunList                    []string `mapstructure:"run_list"`
@@ -93,6 +97,12 @@ type InstallChefTemplate struct {
 	Sudo bool
 }
 
+type KnifeChefTemplate struct {
+		Sudo  bool
+		Flags string
+		Args  string
+}
+
 func (p *Provisioner) Prepare(raws ...interface{}) error {
 	err := config.Decode(&p.config, &config.DecodeOpts{
 		Interpolate:        true,
@@ -101,6 +111,7 @@ func (p *Provisioner) Prepare(raws ...interface{}) error {
 			Exclude: []string{
 				"execute_command",
 				"install_command",
+				"knife_command",
 			},
 		},
 	}, raws...)
@@ -140,6 +151,10 @@ func (p *Provisioner) Prepare(raws ...interface{}) error {
 		p.config.StagingDir = p.guestOSTypeConfig.stagingDir
 	}
 
+	if p.config.KnifeCommand == "" {
+		p.config.KnifeCommand = p.guestOSTypeConfig.knifeCommand
+	}
+
 	var errs *packer.MultiError
 	if p.config.ConfigTemplate != "" {
 		fi, err := os.Stat(p.config.ConfigTemplate)
@@ -484,13 +499,18 @@ func (p *Provisioner) knifeExec(ui packer.Ui, comm packer.Communicator, node str
 		"-c", knifeConfigPath,
 	}
 
-	cmdText := fmt.Sprintf(
-		"knife %s %s", strings.Join(args, " "), strings.Join(flags, " "))
-	if !p.config.PreventSudo {
-		cmdText = "sudo " + cmdText
+	p.config.ctx.Data = &KnifeChefTemplate{
+		Sudo: !p.config.PreventSudo,
+		Flags: strings.Join(flags, " "),
+		Args:  strings.Join(args, " "),
 	}
 
-	cmd := &packer.RemoteCmd{Command: cmdText}
+	command, err := interpolate.Render(p.config.KnifeCommand, &p.config.ctx)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
+	cmd := &packer.RemoteCmd{Command: command}
 	if err := cmd.StartWithUi(comm, ui); err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
@@ -498,7 +518,7 @@ func (p *Provisioner) knifeExec(ui packer.Ui, comm packer.Communicator, node str
 		return fmt.Errorf(
 			"Non-zero exit status. See output above for more info.\n\n"+
 				"Command: %s",
-			cmdText)
+			command)
 	}
 
 	return nil
diff --git a/provisioner/chef-client/provisioner_test.go b/provisioner/chef-client/provisioner_test.go
index 89eb05a6c..e84c81c72 100644
--- a/provisioner/chef-client/provisioner_test.go
+++ b/provisioner/chef-client/provisioner_test.go
@@ -87,6 +87,7 @@ func TestProvisionerPrepare_commands(t *testing.T) {
 	commands := []string{
 		"execute_command",
 		"install_command",
+		"knife_command",
 	}
 
 	for _, command := range commands {