diff --git a/lib/util.js b/lib/util.js
index 261ed79f..49d8f9b3 100644
--- a/lib/util.js
+++ b/lib/util.js
@@ -111,6 +111,40 @@ function safeJsonParse (obj) {
   }
 }
 
+/*
+ * Stringifies the object passed in, converting Buffers into Strings for better
+ * display. This mimics JSON.stringify (see https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/JSON/stringify)
+ * except the `replacer` argument can only be a function.
+ *
+ * @param {object} obj - the object to be serialized
+ * @param {?function} replacer - function to transform the properties added to the
+ *                               serialized object
+ * @param {?number|string} space - used to insert white space into the output JSON
+ *                                 string for readability purposes. Defaults to 2
+ * returns {string} - the JSON object serialized as a string
+ */
+function jsonStringify (obj, replacer, space = 2) {
+  // if no replacer is passed, or it is not a function, just use a pass-through
+  if (!_.isFunction(replacer)) {
+    replacer = (k, v) => v;
+  }
+
+  // Buffers cannot be serialized in a readable way
+  const bufferToJSON = Buffer.prototype.toJSON;
+  delete Buffer.prototype.toJSON;
+  try {
+    return JSON.stringify(obj, (key, value) => {
+      const updatedValue = Buffer.isBuffer(value)
+        ? value.toString('utf8')
+        : value;
+      return replacer(key, updatedValue);
+    }, space);
+  } finally {
+    // restore the function, so as to not break further serialization
+    Buffer.prototype.toJSON = bufferToJSON;
+  }
+}
+
 /*
  * Removes the wrapper from element, if it exists.
  *   { ELEMENT: 4 } becomes 4
@@ -300,4 +334,5 @@ export {
   multiResolve, safeJsonParse, wrapElement, unwrapElement, filterObject,
   toReadableSizeString, isSubPath, W3C_WEB_ELEMENT_IDENTIFIER,
   isSameDestination, compareVersions, coerceVersion, quote, unleakString,
+  jsonStringify,
 };
diff --git a/test/util-specs.js b/test/util-specs.js
index 7d40c482..ef466cd3 100644
--- a/test/util-specs.js
+++ b/test/util-specs.js
@@ -229,11 +229,77 @@ describe('util', function () {
       util.safeJsonParse(num).should.eql(num);
     });
     it('should make a number from a string representation', function () {
-      let num = 42;
+      const num = 42;
       util.safeJsonParse(String(num)).should.eql(num);
     });
   });
 
+  describe('jsonStringify', function () {
+    it('should use JSON.stringify if no Buffer involved', function () {
+      const obj = {
+        k1: 'v1',
+        k2: 'v2',
+        k3: 'v3',
+      };
+      const jsonString = JSON.stringify(obj, null, 2);
+      util.jsonStringify(obj).should.eql(jsonString);
+    });
+    it('should serialize a Buffer', function () {
+      const obj = {
+        k1: 'v1',
+        k2: 'v2',
+        k3: Buffer.from('hi how are you today'),
+      };
+      util.jsonStringify(obj).should.include('hi how are you today');
+    });
+    it('should use the replacer function on non-buffer values', function () {
+      const obj = {
+        k1: 'v1',
+        k2: 'v2',
+        k3: 'v3',
+      };
+      function replacer (key, value) {
+        return _.isString(value) ? value.toUpperCase() : value;
+      }
+      const jsonString = util.jsonStringify(obj, replacer);
+      jsonString.should.include('V1');
+      jsonString.should.include('V2');
+      jsonString.should.include('V3');
+    });
+    it('should use the replacer function on buffers', function () {
+      const obj = {
+        k1: 'v1',
+        k2: 'v2',
+        k3: Buffer.from('hi how are you today'),
+      };
+      function replacer (key, value) {
+        return _.isString(value) ? value.toUpperCase() : value;
+      }
+      const jsonString = util.jsonStringify(obj, replacer);
+      jsonString.should.include('V1');
+      jsonString.should.include('V2');
+      jsonString.should.include('HI HOW ARE YOU TODAY');
+    });
+    it('should use the replacer function recursively', function () {
+      const obj = {
+        k1: 'v1',
+        k2: 'v2',
+        k3: Buffer.from('hi how are you today'),
+        k4: {
+          k5: 'v5',
+        },
+      };
+      function replacer (key, value) {
+        return _.isString(value) ? value.toUpperCase() : value;
+      }
+      const jsonString = util.jsonStringify(obj, replacer);
+      jsonString.should.include('V1');
+      jsonString.should.include('V2');
+      jsonString.should.include('HI HOW ARE YOU TODAY');
+      jsonString.should.include('V5');
+    });
+  });
+
   describe('unwrapElement', function () {
     it('should pass through an unwrapped element', function () {
       let el = 4;