diff --git a/lib/common/options.js b/lib/common/options.js
index 0fc0beba43..3dd367bcc4 100755
--- a/lib/common/options.js
+++ b/lib/common/options.js
@@ -225,6 +225,7 @@ Options.defaults = {
   css: [],
   modules: [],
   layouts: {},
+  serverInstance: null,
   serverMiddleware: [],
   ErrorPage: null,
   loading: {
diff --git a/lib/core/renderer.js b/lib/core/renderer.js
index a2e1595eb2..1bc4e7b66a 100644
--- a/lib/core/renderer.js
+++ b/lib/core/renderer.js
@@ -39,8 +39,16 @@ export default class Renderer extends Tapable {
     this.webpackDevMiddleware = null
     this.webpackHotMiddleware = null
 
-    // Create new connect instance
-    this.app = connect()
+    if (typeof this.options.serverInstance === 'string') {
+      // Resolve the module from rootDir
+      this.app = require(this.nuxt.resolvePath(this.options.serverInstance))()
+    } else if (this.options.serverInstance instanceof Function) {
+      // Use the instance directly
+      this.app = this.options.serverInstance
+    } else {
+      // Create new connect instance
+      this.app = connect()
+    }
 
     // Renderer runtime resources
     this.resources = {