diff --git a/src/Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.Testing/WebApplicationFactory.cs b/src/Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.Testing/WebApplicationFactory.cs
index 3e31e9b5aa..c04fe25f45 100644
--- a/src/Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.Testing/WebApplicationFactory.cs
+++ b/src/Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.Testing/WebApplicationFactory.cs
@@ -128,6 +128,11 @@ namespace Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.Testing
 
         private void SetContentRoot(IWebHostBuilder builder)
         {
+            if (SetContentRootFromSetting(builder))
+            {
+                return;
+            }
+
             var metadataAttributes = GetContentRootMetadataAttributes(
                 typeof(TEntryPoint).Assembly.FullName,
                 typeof(TEntryPoint).Assembly.GetName().Name);
@@ -161,6 +166,24 @@ namespace Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.Testing
             }
         }
 
+        private static bool SetContentRootFromSetting(IWebHostBuilder builder)
+        {
+            // Attempt to look for TEST_CONTENTROOT_APPNAME in settings. This should result in looking for
+            // ASPNETCORE_TEST_CONTENTROOT_APPNAME environment variable.
+            var assemblyName = typeof(TEntryPoint).Assembly.GetName().Name;
+            var settingSuffix = assemblyName.ToUpperInvariant().Replace(".", "_");
+            var settingName = $"TEST_CONTENTROOT_{settingSuffix}";
+
+            var settingValue = builder.GetSetting(settingName);
+            if (settingValue == null)
+            {
+                return false;
+            }
+
+            builder.UseContentRoot(settingValue);
+            return true;
+        }
+
         private WebApplicationFactoryContentRootAttribute[] GetContentRootMetadataAttributes(
             string tEntryPointAssemblyFullName,
             string tEntryPointAssemblyName)