diff --git a/.azure/pipelines/ci.yml b/.azure/pipelines/ci.yml
index 8bcde2552d..29e9664469 100644
--- a/.azure/pipelines/ci.yml
+++ b/.azure/pipelines/ci.yml
@@ -431,6 +431,10 @@ jobs:
     - bash: "./eng/scripts/install-nginx-mac.sh"
       displayName: Installing Nginx
     afterBuild:
+    - bash: ./build.sh --ci --pack --no-build --no-restore --no-build-deps "/bl:artifacts/log/packages.pack.binlog"
+      displayName: Pack Packages (for Template tests)
+    - bash: ./src/ProjectTemplates/build.sh --ci --pack --no-restore --no-build-deps "/bl:artifacts/log/template.pack.binlog"
+      displayName: Pack Templates (for Template tests)
     - bash: ./build.sh --no-build --ci --test -p:RunFlakyTests=true
       displayName: Run Flaky Tests
       continueOnError: true
@@ -456,6 +460,10 @@ jobs:
     - bash: "echo fs.inotify.max_user_watches=524288 | sudo tee -a /etc/sysctl.conf && sudo sysctl -p"
       displayName: Increase inotify limit
     afterBuild:
+    - bash: ./build.sh --ci --pack --no-build --no-restore --no-build-deps "/bl:artifacts/log/packages.pack.binlog"
+      displayName: Pack Packages (for Template tests)
+    - bash: ./src/ProjectTemplates/build.sh --ci --pack --no-restore --no-build-deps "/bl:artifacts/log/template.pack.binlog"
+      displayName: Pack Templates (for Template tests)
     - bash: ./build.sh --no-build --ci --test -p:RunFlakyTests=true
       displayName: Run Flaky Tests
       continueOnError: true
diff --git a/src/ProjectTemplates/README.md b/src/ProjectTemplates/README.md
index 59f1617100..ce53e760e3 100644
--- a/src/ProjectTemplates/README.md
+++ b/src/ProjectTemplates/README.md
@@ -15,8 +15,9 @@ Some projects in this repository (like SignalR Java Client) require JDK installa
 1. Run `git submodule update --init --recursive` if you haven't already.
 1. Run `git submodule update` to update submodules.
 1. Run `build.cmd -all -pack` in the repository root to build all of the dependencies.
-1. Run `build.cmd` in this directory will produce NuGet packages for each class of template in the artifacts directory.
+1. Run `build.cmd -pack -NoRestore -NoBuilddeps` in this directory will produce NuGet packages for each class of template in the artifacts directory.
 1. Because the templates build against the version of `Microsoft.AspNetCore.App` that was built during the previous step, it is NOT advised that you install templates created on your local machine via `dotnet new -i [nupkgPath]`. Instead, use the `Run-[Template]-Locally.ps1` scripts in the script folder. These scripts do `dotnet new -i` with your packages, but also apply a series of fixes and tweaks to the created template which keep the fact that you don't have a production `Microsoft.AspNetCore.App` from interfering.
 1. The ASP.NET localhost development certificate must also be installed and trusted or else you'll get a test error "Certificate error: Navigation blocked".
+1. Run `build.cmd -test -NoRestore -NoBuild -NoBuilddeps "/p:RunTemplateTests=true"` to run template tests.
 
 ** Note** Templating tests require Visual Studio unless a full build (CI) is performed.
diff --git a/src/ProjectTemplates/build.sh b/src/ProjectTemplates/build.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..7046bb98a0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/ProjectTemplates/build.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+DIR="$( cd "$( dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}" )" && pwd )"
+repo_root="$DIR/../.."
+"$repo_root/build.sh" --projects "$DIR/**/*.*proj" "$@"