diff --git a/cmd/finch/nerdctl.go b/cmd/finch/nerdctl.go
index 86f437bbf..b0a2b9b86 100644
--- a/cmd/finch/nerdctl.go
+++ b/cmd/finch/nerdctl.go
@@ -4,16 +4,20 @@
 package main
 
 import (
+	"bufio"
 	"fmt"
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"strings"
 
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
 
+	"github.com/runfinch/finch/pkg/command"
 	"github.com/runfinch/finch/pkg/flog"
+	"github.com/runfinch/finch/pkg/lima"
+	"github.com/runfinch/finch/pkg/system"
 
 	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/util/sets"
-
-	"github.com/runfinch/finch/pkg/command"
-	"github.com/runfinch/finch/pkg/lima"
 )
 
 const nerdctlCmdName = "nerdctl"
@@ -59,15 +63,35 @@ func (nc *nerdctlCommand) run(cmdName string, args []string) error {
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
-
-	var nerdctlArgs []string
-	for _, arg := range args {
-		if arg == "--debug" {
+	var (
+		nerdctlArgs []string
+		skip        bool
+	)
+	for i, arg := range args {
+		// pre-parsing environment values on the command line may pre-fetch the next
+		// argument; will skip in this loop based on result of parsing env entries
+		if skip {
+			skip = false
+			continue
+		}
+		switch {
+		case arg == "--debug":
 			// explicitly setting log level to avoid `--debug` flag being interpreted as nerdctl command
 			nc.logger.SetLevel(flog.Debug)
-			continue
+		case argIsEnv(arg):
+			shouldSkip, addArgs := handleEnv(arg, args[i+1])
+			skip = shouldSkip
+			nerdctlArgs = append(nerdctlArgs, addArgs...)
+		case strings.HasPrefix(arg, "--env-file"):
+			shouldSkip, additionalEnvs, err := handleEnvFile(arg, args[i+1])
+			if err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
+			skip = shouldSkip
+			nerdctlArgs = append(nerdctlArgs, additionalEnvs...)
+		default:
+			nerdctlArgs = append(nerdctlArgs, arg)
 		}
-		nerdctlArgs = append(nerdctlArgs, arg)
 	}
 
 	limaArgs := append([]string{"shell", limaInstanceName, nerdctlCmdName, cmdName}, nerdctlArgs...)
@@ -122,6 +146,86 @@ func (nc *nerdctlCommand) shouldReplaceForHelp(cmdName string, args []string) bo
 	return false
 }
 
+func argIsEnv(arg string) bool {
+	if strings.HasPrefix(arg, "-e") || (strings.HasPrefix(arg, "--env") && !strings.HasPrefix(arg, "--env-file")) {
+		return true
+	}
+	return false
+}
+
+func handleEnv(arg, arg2 string) (bool, []string) {
+	stdlib := system.NewStdLib()
+	var (
+		additionalArgs []string
+		envVar         string
+		skip           bool
+	)
+	switch arg {
+	case "-e", "--env":
+		skip = true
+		envVar = arg2
+	default:
+		// flag and value are in the same string
+		if strings.HasPrefix(arg, "-e") {
+			envVar = arg[2:]
+		} else {
+			// only other case is "--env="; skip that prefix
+			envVar = arg[6:]
+		}
+	}
+
+	if !strings.Contains(envVar, "=") {
+		// need to lookup value from OS environment, and only set if it exists in the env
+		if val, ok := stdlib.LookupEnv(envVar); ok {
+			additionalArgs = append(additionalArgs, "-e", fmt.Sprintf("%s=%s", envVar, val))
+		}
+	} else {
+		additionalArgs = append(additionalArgs, "-e", envVar)
+	}
+	return skip, additionalArgs
+}
+
+func handleEnvFile(arg, arg2 string) (bool, []string, error) {
+	var (
+		filename       string
+		additionalArgs []string
+		skip           bool
+	)
+
+	switch arg {
+	case "--env-file":
+		skip = true
+		filename = arg2
+	default:
+		filename = arg[11:]
+	}
+
+	file, err := os.Open(filepath.Clean(filename))
+	if err != nil {
+		return false, []string{}, err
+	}
+	defer file.Close() //nolint:errcheck,gosec // close of a file in O_RDONLY mode has no gosec issue
+
+	stdlib := system.NewStdLib()
+	scanner := bufio.NewScanner(file)
+	for scanner.Scan() {
+		line := scanner.Text()
+		if !strings.Contains(line, "=") {
+			// only has the variable name; need to lookup value
+			if val, ok := stdlib.LookupEnv(line); ok {
+				additionalArgs = append(additionalArgs, "-e", fmt.Sprintf("%s=%s", line, val))
+			}
+		} else {
+			// a name and value; add as a "-e" param to the command line
+			additionalArgs = append(additionalArgs, "-e", line)
+		}
+	}
+	if err := scanner.Err(); err != nil {
+		return skip, []string{}, err
+	}
+	return skip, additionalArgs, nil
+}
+
 var nerdctlCmds = map[string]string{
 	"build":     "Build an image from Dockerfile",
 	"builder":   "Manage builds",
diff --git a/pkg/system/stdlib.go b/pkg/system/stdlib.go
index 8dde8d2f4..0f9f1d1c7 100644
--- a/pkg/system/stdlib.go
+++ b/pkg/system/stdlib.go
@@ -38,6 +38,10 @@ func (s *StdLib) Env(key string) string {
 	return os.Getenv(key)
 }
 
+func (s *StdLib) LookupEnv(key string) (string, bool) {
+	return os.LookupEnv(key)
+}
+
 func (s *StdLib) Stdin() *os.File {
 	return os.Stdin
 }