diff --git a/pkg/e2e/ddev_test.go b/pkg/e2e/ddev_test.go
index 37293afb..63217f95 100644
--- a/pkg/e2e/ddev_test.go
+++ b/pkg/e2e/ddev_test.go
@@ -19,11 +19,13 @@ package e2e
 import (
 	"fmt"
 	"os"
+	"os/exec"
 	"path/filepath"
 	"runtime"
 	"strings"
 	"testing"
 
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
 	"gotest.tools/v3/assert"
 )
 
@@ -31,26 +33,38 @@ const ddevVersion = "v1.19.1"
 
 func TestComposeRunDdev(t *testing.T) {
 	if !composeStandaloneMode {
-		t.Skip("Not running on standalone mode.")
+		t.Skip("Not running in plugin mode - ddev only supports invoking standalone `docker-compose`")
 	}
 	if runtime.GOOS == "windows" {
 		t.Skip("Running on Windows. Skipping...")
 	}
-	_ = os.Setenv("DDEV_DEBUG", "true")
 
-	c := NewParallelCLI(t)
-	dir, err := os.MkdirTemp("", t.Name()+"-")
-	assert.NilError(t, err)
+	// ddev shells out to `docker` and `docker-compose` (standalone), so a
+	// temporary directory is created with symlinks to system Docker and the
+	// locally-built standalone Compose binary to use as PATH
+	pathDir := t.TempDir()
+	dockerBin, err := exec.LookPath(DockerExecutableName)
+	require.NoError(t, err, "Could not find %q in path", DockerExecutableName)
+	require.NoError(t, os.Symlink(dockerBin, filepath.Join(pathDir, DockerExecutableName)),
+		"Could not create %q symlink", DockerExecutableName)
 
-	// ddev needs to be able to find mkcert to figure out where certs are.
-	_ = os.Setenv("PATH", fmt.Sprintf("%s:%s", os.Getenv("PATH"), dir))
+	composeBin := ComposeStandalonePath(t)
+	require.NoError(t, os.Symlink(composeBin, filepath.Join(pathDir, DockerComposeExecutableName)),
+		"Could not create %q symlink", DockerComposeExecutableName)
 
-	siteName := filepath.Base(dir)
+	c := NewCLI(t, WithEnv(
+		"DDEV_DEBUG=true",
+		fmt.Sprintf("HOME=%s", t.TempDir()),
+		fmt.Sprintf("USER=%s", os.Getenv("USER")),
+		fmt.Sprintf("PATH=%s", pathDir),
+	))
+
+	ddevDir := t.TempDir()
+	siteName := filepath.Base(ddevDir)
 
 	t.Cleanup(func() {
-		_ = c.RunCmdInDir(t, dir, "./ddev", "delete", "-Oy")
-		_ = c.RunCmdInDir(t, dir, "./ddev", "poweroff")
-		_ = os.RemoveAll(dir)
+		_ = c.RunCmdInDir(t, ddevDir, "./ddev", "delete", "-Oy")
+		_ = c.RunCmdInDir(t, ddevDir, "./ddev", "poweroff")
 	})
 
 	osName := "linux"
@@ -59,27 +73,26 @@ func TestComposeRunDdev(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 
 	compressedFilename := fmt.Sprintf("ddev_%s-%s.%s.tar.gz", osName, runtime.GOARCH, ddevVersion)
-	c.RunCmdInDir(t, dir, "curl", "-LO",
-		fmt.Sprintf("https://github.com/drud/ddev/releases/download/%s/%s",
-			ddevVersion,
-			compressedFilename))
+	c.RunCmdInDir(t, ddevDir, "curl", "-LO", fmt.Sprintf("https://github.com/drud/ddev/releases/download/%s/%s",
+		ddevVersion,
+		compressedFilename))
 
-	c.RunCmdInDir(t, dir, "tar", "-xzf", compressedFilename)
+	c.RunCmdInDir(t, ddevDir, "tar", "-xzf", compressedFilename)
 
 	// Create a simple index.php we can test against.
-	c.RunCmdInDir(t, dir, "sh", "-c", "echo '<?php\nprint \"ddev is working\";' >index.php")
+	c.RunCmdInDir(t, ddevDir, "sh", "-c", "echo '<?php\nprint \"ddev is working\";' >index.php")
 
-	c.RunCmdInDir(t, dir, "./ddev", "config", "--auto")
-	c.RunCmdInDir(t, dir, "./ddev", "config", "global", "--use-docker-compose-from-path")
-	vRes := c.RunCmdInDir(t, dir, "./ddev", "version")
+	c.RunCmdInDir(t, ddevDir, "./ddev", "config", "--auto")
+	c.RunCmdInDir(t, ddevDir, "./ddev", "config", "global", "--use-docker-compose-from-path")
+	vRes := c.RunCmdInDir(t, ddevDir, "./ddev", "version")
 	out := vRes.Stdout()
 	fmt.Printf("ddev version: %s\n", out)
 
-	c.RunCmdInDir(t, dir, "./ddev", "poweroff")
+	c.RunCmdInDir(t, ddevDir, "./ddev", "poweroff")
 
-	c.RunCmdInDir(t, dir, "./ddev", "start", "-y")
+	c.RunCmdInDir(t, ddevDir, "./ddev", "start", "-y")
 
-	curlRes := c.RunCmdInDir(t, dir, "curl", "-sSL", fmt.Sprintf("http://%s.ddev.site", siteName))
+	curlRes := c.RunCmdInDir(t, ddevDir, "curl", "-sSL", fmt.Sprintf("http://%s.ddev.site", siteName))
 	out = curlRes.Stdout()
 	fmt.Println(out)
 	assert.Assert(t, strings.Contains(out, "ddev is working"), "Could not start project")
diff --git a/pkg/e2e/framework.go b/pkg/e2e/framework.go
index 37f5483a..49874e95 100644
--- a/pkg/e2e/framework.go
+++ b/pkg/e2e/framework.go
@@ -32,7 +32,6 @@ import (
 	"github.com/pkg/errors"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
 	"gotest.tools/v3/assert"
-	is "gotest.tools/v3/assert/cmp"
 	"gotest.tools/v3/icmd"
 	"gotest.tools/v3/poll"
 
@@ -61,18 +60,50 @@ func init() {
 // CLI is used to wrap the CLI for end to end testing
 type CLI struct {
 	ConfigDir string
+
+	env []string
 }
 
-// NewParallelCLI returns a configured CLI with t.Parallel() set
-func NewParallelCLI(t *testing.T) *CLI {
+// CLIOption to customize behavior for all commands for a CLI instance.
+type CLIOption func(c *CLI)
+
+// NewParallelCLI marks the parent test as parallel and returns a CLI instance
+// suitable for usage across child tests.
+func NewParallelCLI(t *testing.T, opts ...CLIOption) *CLI {
+	t.Helper()
 	t.Parallel()
-	return NewCLI(t)
+	return NewCLI(t, opts...)
 }
 
-// NewCLI returns a CLI to use for E2E tests
-func NewCLI(t testing.TB) *CLI {
-	d, err := ioutil.TempDir("", "")
-	assert.Check(t, is.Nil(err))
+// NewCLI creates a CLI instance for running E2E tests.
+func NewCLI(t testing.TB, opts ...CLIOption) *CLI {
+	t.Helper()
+
+	configDir := t.TempDir()
+	initializePlugins(t, configDir)
+
+	c := &CLI{
+		ConfigDir: configDir,
+	}
+
+	for _, opt := range opts {
+		opt(c)
+	}
+
+	return c
+}
+
+// WithEnv sets environment variables that will be passed to commands.
+func WithEnv(env ...string) CLIOption {
+	return func(c *CLI) {
+		c.env = append(c.env, env...)
+	}
+}
+
+// initializePlugins copies the necessary plugin files to the temporary config
+// directory for the test.
+func initializePlugins(t testing.TB, d string) {
+	t.Helper()
 
 	t.Cleanup(func() {
 		if t.Failed() {
@@ -102,8 +133,6 @@ func NewCLI(t testing.TB) *CLI {
 			panic(err)
 		}
 	}
-
-	return &CLI{ConfigDir: d}
 }
 
 func dirContents(dir string) []string {
@@ -168,13 +197,15 @@ func (c *CLI) BaseEnvironment() []string {
 func (c *CLI) NewCmd(command string, args ...string) icmd.Cmd {
 	return icmd.Cmd{
 		Command: append([]string{command}, args...),
-		Env:     c.BaseEnvironment(),
+		Env:     append(c.BaseEnvironment(), c.env...),
 	}
 }
 
 // NewCmdWithEnv creates a cmd object configured with the test environment set with additional env vars
 func (c *CLI) NewCmdWithEnv(envvars []string, command string, args ...string) icmd.Cmd {
-	cmdEnv := append(c.BaseEnvironment(), envvars...)
+	// base env -> CLI overrides -> cmd overrides
+	cmdEnv := append(c.BaseEnvironment(), c.env...)
+	cmdEnv = append(cmdEnv, envvars...)
 	return icmd.Cmd{
 		Command: append([]string{command}, args...),
 		Env:     cmdEnv,