diff --git a/e2e-tests/production-runtime/.env.production b/e2e-tests/production-runtime/.env.production
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..b4b96fe5c9c50
--- /dev/null
+++ b/e2e-tests/production-runtime/.env.production
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+# This file is commited to repo only to validate that env vars are available
+# to use in frontend and don't leak if not used (secrets used in Node).
+# You should NOT commit `.env` files to your repository for production sites.
+EXISTING_VAR=foo bar
+VERY_SECRET_VAR=it's a secret
diff --git a/e2e-tests/production-runtime/__tests__/env-vars.js b/e2e-tests/production-runtime/__tests__/env-vars.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..00de3acd24b4f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/e2e-tests/production-runtime/__tests__/env-vars.js
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+const { exec } = require(`child_process`)
+
+const grepJSFilesFor = str =>
+  new Promise(resolve => {
+    const grep = exec(`grep -r "${str}" ./public/*.js`)
+
+    grep.stdout.on(`data`, () => {
+      resolve(true)
+      return
+    })
+
+    grep.on(`close`, () => {
+      resolve(false)
+      return
+    })
+  })
+
+const checkLeakedEnvVar = async () => {
+  const isLeaked =
+    (await grepJSFilesFor(`VERY_SECRET_VAR`)) ||
+    (await grepJSFilesFor(`it's a secret`))
+
+  if (isLeaked) {
+    console.error(`Error: VERY_SECRET_VAR found in bundle`)
+    process.exit(1)
+  } else {
+    console.log(`Success: VERY_SECRET_VAR not found in bundle`)
+    process.exit(0)
+  }
+}
+
+checkLeakedEnvVar()
diff --git a/e2e-tests/production-runtime/cypress/integration/production.js b/e2e-tests/production-runtime/cypress/integration/production.js
index 1050897e9af41..ddff30c7859b1 100644
--- a/e2e-tests/production-runtime/cypress/integration/production.js
+++ b/e2e-tests/production-runtime/cypress/integration/production.js
@@ -71,4 +71,12 @@ describe(`Production build tests`, () => {
       .getTestElement(`404`)
       .should(`exist`)
   })
+
+  it(`Uses env vars`, () => {
+    cy.visit(`/env-vars`).waitForAPI(`onRouteUpdate`)
+
+    cy.getTestElement(`process.env`).contains(`{}`)
+    cy.getTestElement(`process.env.EXISTING_VAR`).contains(`"foo bar"`)
+    cy.getTestElement(`process.env.NOT_EXISTING_VAR`).should(`be.empty`)
+  })
 })
diff --git a/e2e-tests/production-runtime/package.json b/e2e-tests/production-runtime/package.json
index 49594e179cd0e..937217f8e0720 100644
--- a/e2e-tests/production-runtime/package.json
+++ b/e2e-tests/production-runtime/package.json
@@ -21,7 +21,8 @@
     "build": "gatsby build",
     "develop": "gatsby develop",
     "format": "prettier --write '**/*.js'",
-    "test": "npm run build && npm run start-server-and-test",
+    "test": "npm run build && npm run start-server-and-test && npm run test-env-vars",
+    "test-env-vars": " node __tests__/env-vars.js",
     "start-server-and-test": "start-server-and-test serve http://localhost:9000 cy:run",
     "serve": "gatsby serve",
     "cy:open": "cypress open",
diff --git a/e2e-tests/production-runtime/src/pages/env-vars.js b/e2e-tests/production-runtime/src/pages/env-vars.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..e4beb1b0d888a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/e2e-tests/production-runtime/src/pages/env-vars.js
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+import React from 'react'
+
+import Layout from '../components/layout'
+
+const UseEnv = ({ heading, envVar }) => (
+  <React.Fragment>
+    <h2>{heading}</h2>
+    <pre>
+      <code data-testid={heading}>{JSON.stringify(envVar)}</code>
+    </pre>
+  </React.Fragment>
+)
+
+const SecondPage = () => (
+  <Layout>
+    <h1>Using env vars</h1>
+    <UseEnv heading="process.env" envVar={process.env} />
+    <UseEnv
+      heading="process.env.EXISTING_VAR"
+      envVar={process.env.EXISTING_VAR}
+    />
+    <UseEnv
+      heading="process.env.NOT_EXISTING_VAR"
+      envVar={process.env.NOT_EXISTING_VAR}
+    />
+  </Layout>
+)
+
+export default SecondPage
diff --git a/packages/gatsby/src/utils/webpack.config.js b/packages/gatsby/src/utils/webpack.config.js
index 6e6d60f7de3fa..e8c6695d4c6c3 100644
--- a/packages/gatsby/src/utils/webpack.config.js
+++ b/packages/gatsby/src/utils/webpack.config.js
@@ -67,7 +67,17 @@ module.exports = async (
     envObject.PUBLIC_DIR = JSON.stringify(`${process.cwd()}/public`)
     envObject.BUILD_STAGE = JSON.stringify(stage)
 
-    return Object.assign(envObject, gatsbyVarObject)
+    const mergedEnvVars = Object.assign(envObject, gatsbyVarObject)
+
+    return Object.keys(mergedEnvVars).reduce(
+      (acc, key) => {
+        acc[`process.env.${key}`] = mergedEnvVars[key]
+        return acc
+      },
+      {
+        "process.env": JSON.stringify({}),
+      }
+    )
   }
 
   function getHmrPath() {
@@ -172,7 +182,7 @@ module.exports = async (
       // Add a few global variables. Set NODE_ENV to production (enables
       // optimizations for React) and what the link prefix is (__PATH_PREFIX__).
       plugins.define({
-        "process.env": processEnv(stage, `development`),
+        ...processEnv(stage, `development`),
         __PATH_PREFIX__: JSON.stringify(
           program.prefixPaths ? store.getState().config.pathPrefix : ``
         ),