diff --git a/docs/netlify-dev.md b/docs/netlify-dev.md
index 2d0448466c5..a57406f4d89 100644
--- a/docs/netlify-dev.md
+++ b/docs/netlify-dev.md
@@ -121,6 +121,7 @@ Netlify Dev is meant to work with zero config for the majority of users, by usin
   jwtSecret = "secret" # The secret used to verify tokens for JWT based redirects
   jwtRolePath = "app_metadata.authorization.roles" # Object path we should look for role values for JWT based redirects
   autoLaunch = true # a Boolean value that determines if Netlify Dev launches the local server address in your browser
+  envFiles = [".env.development", ".env"] # The env files to use, ordered by priority (left - highest, right - lowest)
   # to start an https server instead of an http one, configure a certificate and key files
   [dev.https]
     certFile = "cert.pem" # path to the certificate file
diff --git a/src/commands/dev/dev-exec.js b/src/commands/dev/dev-exec.js
index 95e2196fcd0..86454f73f85 100644
--- a/src/commands/dev/dev-exec.js
+++ b/src/commands/dev/dev-exec.js
@@ -8,8 +8,8 @@ const { injectEnvVariables } = require('../../utils')
  * @param {import('../base-command').BaseCommand} command
  */
 const devExec = async (cmd, options, command) => {
-  const { cachedConfig, site } = command.netlify
-  await injectEnvVariables({ env: cachedConfig.env, site })
+  const { cachedConfig, config, site } = command.netlify
+  await injectEnvVariables({ devConfig: { ...config.dev }, env: cachedConfig.env, site })
 
   await execa(cmd, command.args.slice(1), {
     stdio: 'inherit',
diff --git a/src/commands/dev/dev.js b/src/commands/dev/dev.js
index 0011733ed31..bb6f06c7715 100644
--- a/src/commands/dev/dev.js
+++ b/src/commands/dev/dev.js
@@ -326,7 +326,7 @@ const dev = async (options, command) => {
     )
   }
 
-  await injectEnvVariables({ env: command.netlify.cachedConfig.env, site })
+  await injectEnvVariables({ devConfig, env: command.netlify.cachedConfig.env, site })
 
   const { addonsUrls, capabilities, siteUrl, timeouts } = await getSiteInformation({
     // inherited from base command --offline
diff --git a/src/commands/dev/types.d.ts b/src/commands/dev/types.d.ts
index 99c1a06bbf2..d6b83fab302 100644
--- a/src/commands/dev/types.d.ts
+++ b/src/commands/dev/types.d.ts
@@ -17,5 +17,6 @@ export type DevConfig = {
   https?: {
     keyFile: string
     certFile: string
-  }
+  },
+  envFiles?:string[]
 }
diff --git a/src/commands/functions/functions-create.js b/src/commands/functions/functions-create.js
index 1d8fec0c54f..f38b5cc610c 100644
--- a/src/commands/functions/functions-create.js
+++ b/src/commands/functions/functions-create.js
@@ -477,8 +477,14 @@ const createFunctionAddon = async function ({ addonName, addons, api, siteData,
  * @param {(command: import('../base-command').BaseCommand) => any} config.onComplete
  */
 const handleOnComplete = async ({ command, onComplete }) => {
+  const { config } = command.netlify
+
   if (onComplete) {
-    await injectEnvVariables({ env: command.netlify.cachedConfig.env, site: command.netlify.site })
+    await injectEnvVariables({
+      devConfig: { ...config.dev },
+      env: command.netlify.cachedConfig.env,
+      site: command.netlify.site,
+    })
     await onComplete.call(command)
   }
 }
@@ -491,6 +497,8 @@ const handleOnComplete = async ({ command, onComplete }) => {
  * @param {string} config.fnPath
  */
 const handleAddonDidInstall = async ({ addonCreated, addonDidInstall, command, fnPath }) => {
+  const { config } = command.netlify
+
   if (!addonCreated || !addonDidInstall) {
     return
   }
@@ -508,7 +516,11 @@ const handleAddonDidInstall = async ({ addonCreated, addonDidInstall, command, f
     return
   }
 
-  await injectEnvVariables({ env: command.netlify.cachedConfig.env, site: command.netlify.site })
+  await injectEnvVariables({
+    devConfig: { ...config.dev },
+    env: command.netlify.cachedConfig.env,
+    site: command.netlify.site,
+  })
   addonDidInstall(fnPath)
 }
 
diff --git a/src/commands/functions/functions-serve.js b/src/commands/functions/functions-serve.js
index dd1f9037e27..8dc434ca71e 100644
--- a/src/commands/functions/functions-serve.js
+++ b/src/commands/functions/functions-serve.js
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ const functionsServe = async (options, command) => {
 
   const functionsDir = getFunctionsDir({ options, config }, join('netlify', 'functions'))
 
-  await injectEnvVariables({ env: command.netlify.cachedConfig.env, site })
+  await injectEnvVariables({ devConfig: { ...config.dev }, env: command.netlify.cachedConfig.env, site })
 
   const { capabilities, siteUrl, timeouts } = await getSiteInformation({
     offline: options.offline,
diff --git a/src/utils/dev.js b/src/utils/dev.js
index 0457ff21fe5..dac2bd09ee1 100644
--- a/src/utils/dev.js
+++ b/src/utils/dev.js
@@ -139,9 +139,9 @@ const getEnvSourceName = (source) => {
 
 // Takes a set of environment variables in the format provided by @netlify/config, augments it with variables from both
 // dot-env files and the process itself, and injects into `process.env`.
-const injectEnvVariables = async ({ env, site }) => {
+const injectEnvVariables = async ({ devConfig, env, site }) => {
   const environment = new Map(Object.entries(env))
-  const dotEnvFiles = await loadDotEnvFiles({ projectDir: site.root })
+  const dotEnvFiles = await loadDotEnvFiles({ envFiles: devConfig.envFiles, projectDir: site.root })
 
   dotEnvFiles.forEach(({ env: fileEnv, file }) => {
     Object.keys(fileEnv).forEach((key) => {
diff --git a/src/utils/dot-env.js b/src/utils/dot-env.js
index 90d5d1645d1..ee5efc8f064 100644
--- a/src/utils/dot-env.js
+++ b/src/utils/dot-env.js
@@ -8,8 +8,8 @@ const { isFileAsync } = require('../lib/fs')
 
 const { warn } = require('./command-helpers')
 
-const loadDotEnvFiles = async function ({ projectDir }) {
-  const response = await tryLoadDotEnvFiles({ projectDir })
+const loadDotEnvFiles = async function ({ envFiles, projectDir }) {
+  const response = await tryLoadDotEnvFiles({ projectDir, dotenvFiles: envFiles })
 
   const filesWithWarning = response.filter((el) => el.warning)
   filesWithWarning.forEach((el) => {
@@ -19,8 +19,10 @@ const loadDotEnvFiles = async function ({ projectDir }) {
   return response.filter((el) => el.file && el.env)
 }
 
-const tryLoadDotEnvFiles = async ({ projectDir }) => {
-  const dotenvFiles = ['.env', '.env.development']
+// in the user configuration, the order is highest to lowest
+const defaultEnvFiles = ['.env.development', '.env']
+
+const tryLoadDotEnvFiles = async ({ projectDir, dotenvFiles = defaultEnvFiles }) => {
   const results = await Promise.all(
     dotenvFiles.map(async (file) => {
       const filepath = path.resolve(projectDir, file)
@@ -40,7 +42,8 @@ const tryLoadDotEnvFiles = async ({ projectDir }) => {
     }),
   )
 
-  return results.filter(Boolean)
+  // we return in order of lowest to highest priority
+  return results.filter(Boolean).reverse()
 }
 
 module.exports = { loadDotEnvFiles, tryLoadDotEnvFiles }
diff --git a/tests/integration/300.command.dev.test.js b/tests/integration/300.command.dev.test.js
index 7ed8ae86f7c..d9179cc608b 100644
--- a/tests/integration/300.command.dev.test.js
+++ b/tests/integration/300.command.dev.test.js
@@ -258,5 +258,39 @@ testMatrix.forEach(({ args }) => {
       })
     })
   })
+
+  test(testName('should inject env vars based on [dev].envFiles file order', args), async (t) => {
+    await withSiteBuilder('site-with-env-files', async (builder) => {
+      builder
+        .withNetlifyToml({
+          config: {
+            dev: { envFiles: ['.env.production', '.env.development', '.env'] },
+            functions: { directory: 'functions' },
+          },
+        })
+        .withEnvFile({ path: '.env.production', env: { TEST: 'FROM_PRODUCTION_FILE' } })
+        .withEnvFile({
+          path: '.env.development',
+          env: { TEST: 'FROM_DEVELOPMENT_FILE', TEST2: 'FROM_DEVELOPMENT_FILE' },
+        })
+        .withEnvFile({ path: '.env', env: { TEST: 'FROM_DEFAULT_FILE', TEST2: 'FROM_DEFAULT_FILE' } })
+        .withFunction({
+          path: 'env.js',
+          handler: async () => ({
+            statusCode: 200,
+            body: `${process.env.TEST}__${process.env.TEST2}`,
+          }),
+        })
+
+      await builder.buildAsync()
+
+      await withDevServer({ cwd: builder.directory, args }, async (server) => {
+        const response = await got(`${server.url}/.netlify/functions/env`).text()
+        t.is(response, 'FROM_PRODUCTION_FILE__FROM_DEVELOPMENT_FILE')
+        t.true(server.output.includes('Ignored .env.development file'))
+        t.true(server.output.includes('Ignored .env file'))
+      })
+    })
+  })
 })
 /* eslint-enable require-await */