diff --git a/docs/_tutorials/cache_api.md b/docs/_tutorials/cache_api.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..2690dc1639a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/_tutorials/cache_api.md
@@ -0,0 +1,87 @@
+---
+layout: tutorials
+permalink: /tutorials/cache-api/
+title: Cache API
+---
+
+Jekyll includes a caching API, which is used both internally as well as exposed
+for plugins, which can be used to cache the output of deterministic functions to
+speed up site generation. This cache will be persistent across builds, but
+cleared when Jekyll detects any changes to `_config.yml`.
+
+## Jekyll::Cache.new(name) → new_cache
+
+If there has already been a cache created with `name`, this will return a
+reference to that existing Cache. Otherwise, create a new Cache called `name`.
+
+If this Cache will be used by a Gem-packaged plugin, `name` should either be the
+name of the Gem, or prefixed with the name of the Gem followed by `::` (if a
+plugin expects to use multiple Caches). If this Cache will be used internally by
+Jekyll, `name` should be the name of the class that is using the Cache (ie:
+`"Jekyll::Converters::Markdown"`).
+
+Cached objects are shared between all Caches created with the same `name`, but
+are _not_ shared between Caches with different names. There can be an object
+stored with key `1` in `Jekyll::Cache.new("a")` and an object stored with key
+`1` in `Jekyll::Cache.new("b")` and these will not point to the same cached
+object. This way, you do not need to ensure that keys are globally unique.
+
+## getset(key) {block}
+
+This is the most common way to utilize the Cache.
+
+`block` is a bit of code that takes a lot of time to compute, but always
+generates the same output given a particular input (like converting Markdown to
+HTML). `key` is a `String` (or an object with `to_s`) that uniquely identifies
+the input to the function.
+
+If `key` already exists in the Cache, it will be returned and `block` will never
+be executed. If `key` does not exist in the Cache, `block` will be executed and
+the result will be added to the Cache and returned.
+
+```ruby
+def cache
+  @@cache ||= Jekyll::Cache.new("ConvertMarkdown")
+end
+
+def convert_markdown_to_html(markdown)
+  cache.getset(markdown) do
+    expensive_conversion_method(markdown)
+  end
+end
+```
+
+In the above example, `expensive_conversion_method` will only be called once for
+any given `markdown` input. If `convert_markdown_to_html` is called a second
+time with the same input, the cached output will be returned.
+
+Because posts will frequently remain unchanged from one build to the next, this
+is an effective way to avoid performing the same computations each time the site
+is built.
+
+## clear
+
+This will clear all cached objects from a particular Cache. The Cache will be
+empty, both in memory and on disk.
+
+
+### The following methods will probably only be used in special circumstances
+
+## cache[key] → value
+
+Fetches `key` from Cache and returns its `value`. Raises if `key` does not exist
+in Cache.
+
+## cache[key] = value
+
+Adds `value` to Cache under `key`.
+Returns nothing.
+
+## key?(key) → true or false
+
+Returns `true` if `key` already exists in Cache. False otherwise.
+
+## delete(key)
+
+Removes `key` from Cache.
+Returns nothing.
diff --git a/lib/jekyll.rb b/lib/jekyll.rb
index 56a9b84f5b2..fe4af08411f 100644
--- a/lib/jekyll.rb
+++ b/lib/jekyll.rb
@@ -54,6 +54,7 @@ module Jekyll
   autoload :FrontmatterDefaults, "jekyll/frontmatter_defaults"
   autoload :Hooks,               "jekyll/hooks"
   autoload :Layout,              "jekyll/layout"
+  autoload :Cache,               "jekyll/cache"
   autoload :CollectionReader,    "jekyll/readers/collection_reader"
   autoload :DataReader,          "jekyll/readers/data_reader"
   autoload :LayoutReader,        "jekyll/readers/layout_reader"
diff --git a/lib/jekyll/cache.rb b/lib/jekyll/cache.rb
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..ae5138e018d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/jekyll/cache.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,168 @@
+# frozen_string_literal: true
+
+require "digest"
+
+module Jekyll
+  class Cache
+    # rubocop:disable Style/ClassVars
+    @@caches = {}
+    @@disk_cache_enabled = true
+
+    # Get an existing named cache, or create a new one if none exists
+    #
+    # name - name of the cache
+    #
+    # Returns nothing.
+    def initialize(name)
+      @@base_dir ||= File.expand_path(".jekyll-cache/Jekyll/Cache")
+      @cache = @@caches[name] ||= {}
+      @name = name.gsub(%r![^\w\s-]!, "-")
+    end
+
+    # Disable Marshaling cached items to disk
+    def self.disable_disk_cache!
+      @@disk_cache_enabled = false
+    end
+    # rubocop:enable Style/ClassVars
+
+    # Clear all caches
+    def self.clear
+      delete_cache_files
+      @@caches.each_value(&:clear)
+    end
+
+    # Clear this particular cache
+    def clear
+      delete_cache_files
+      @cache.clear
+    end
+
+    # Retrieve a cached item
+    # Raises if key does not exist in cache
+    #
+    # Returns cached value
+    def [](key)
+      return @cache[key] if @cache.key?(key)
+      path = path_to(hash(key))
+      if @@disk_cache_enabled && File.file?(path) && File.readable?(path)
+        @cache[key] = load(path)
+      else
+        raise
+      end
+    end
+
+    # Add an item to cache
+    #
+    # Returns nothing.
+    def []=(key, value)
+      @cache[key] = value
+      return unless @@disk_cache_enabled
+      path = path_to(hash(key))
+      dump(path, value)
+    end
+
+    # If an item already exists in the cache, retrieve it
+    # Else execute code block, and add the result to the cache, and return that
+    #   result
+    def getset(key)
+      self[key]
+    rescue StandardError
+      value = yield
+      self[key] = value
+      value
+    end
+
+    # Remove one particular item from the cache
+    #
+    # Returns nothing.
+    def delete(key)
+      @cache.delete(key)
+      return unless @@disk_cache_enabled
+      path = path_to(hash(key))
+      File.delete(path)
+    end
+
+    # Check if `key` already exists in this cache
+    #
+    # Returns true if key exists in the cache, false otherwise
+    def key?(key)
+      # First, check if item is already cached in memory
+      return true if @cache.key?(key)
+      # Otherwise, it might be cached on disk
+      # but we should not consider the disk cache if it is disabled
+      return false unless @@disk_cache_enabled
+      path = path_to(hash(key))
+      File.file?(path) && File.readable?(path)
+    end
+
+    # Compare the current config to the cached config
+    # If they are different, clear all caches
+    #
+    # Returns nothing.
+    def self.clear_if_config_changed(config)
+      config = config.inspect
+      cache = Jekyll::Cache.new "Jekyll::Cache"
+      return if cache.key?("config") && cache["config"] == config
+      clear
+      cache = Jekyll::Cache.new "Jekyll::Cache"
+      cache["config"] = config
+      nil
+    end
+
+    private
+
+    # Given a hashed key, return the path to where this item would be saved on
+    # disk
+    def path_to(hash = nil)
+      @base_dir ||= File.join(@@base_dir, @name)
+      return @base_dir if hash.nil?
+      File.join(@base_dir, hash[0..1], hash[2..-1]).freeze
+    end
+
+    # Given a key, return a SHA2 hash that can be used for caching this item to
+    # disk
+    def hash(key)
+      Digest::SHA2.hexdigest(key).freeze
+    end
+
+    # Remove all this caches items from disk
+    #
+    # Returns nothing.
+    def delete_cache_files
+      FileUtils.rm_rf(path_to) if @@disk_cache_enabled
+    end
+
+    # Delete all cached items from all caches
+    #
+    # Returns nothing.
+    def self.delete_cache_files
+      FileUtils.rm_rf(@@base_dir) if @@disk_cache_enabled
+    end
+    private_class_method :delete_cache_files
+
+    # Load `path` from disk and return the result
+    # This MUST NEVER be called in Safe Mode
+    # rubocop:disable Security/MarshalLoad
+    def load(path)
+      raise unless @@disk_cache_enabled
+      cached_file = File.open(path, "rb")
+      value = Marshal.load(cached_file)
+      cached_file.close
+      value
+    end
+    # rubocop:enable Security/MarshalLoad
+
+    # Given a path and a value, save value to disk at path
+    # This should NEVER be called in Safe Mode
+    #
+    # Returns nothing.
+    def dump(path, value)
+      return unless @@disk_cache_enabled
+      dir = File.dirname(path)
+      FileUtils.mkdir_p(dir)
+      File.open(path, "wb") do |cached_file|
+        Marshal.dump(value, cached_file)
+      end
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/lib/jekyll/site.rb b/lib/jekyll/site.rb
index 5c4ac78e83c..530e2b233a0 100644
--- a/lib/jekyll/site.rb
+++ b/lib/jekyll/site.rb
@@ -51,6 +51,7 @@ def config=(config)
       # keep using `gems` to avoid breaking change
       self.gems = config["plugins"]
 
+      configure_cache
       configure_plugins
       configure_theme
       configure_include_paths
@@ -100,6 +101,7 @@ def reset
 
       raise ArgumentError, "limit_posts must be a non-negative number" if limit_posts.negative?
 
+      Jekyll::Cache.clear_if_config_changed config
       Jekyll::Hooks.trigger :site, :after_reset, self
     end
 
@@ -421,6 +423,11 @@ def site_cleaner
       @site_cleaner ||= Cleaner.new(self)
     end
 
+    # Disable Marshaling cache to disk in Safe Mode
+    def configure_cache
+      Jekyll::Cache.disable_disk_cache! if safe
+    end
+
     def configure_plugins
       self.plugin_manager = Jekyll::PluginManager.new(self)
       self.plugins        = plugin_manager.plugins_path
diff --git a/lib/site_template/.gitignore b/lib/site_template/.gitignore
index bcebd7267eb..f40fbd8ba56 100644
--- a/lib/site_template/.gitignore
+++ b/lib/site_template/.gitignore
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 _site
 .sass-cache
+.jekyll-cache
 .jekyll-metadata
 vendor
diff --git a/lib/theme_template/gitignore.erb b/lib/theme_template/gitignore.erb
index 867d3792d5a..736d7400ff4 100644
--- a/lib/theme_template/gitignore.erb
+++ b/lib/theme_template/gitignore.erb
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 *.gem
 .bundle
+.jekyll-cache
 .sass-cache
 _site
 Gemfile.lock
diff --git a/test/test_site.rb b/test/test_site.rb
index 63fb63fde66..d0322ebbdb3 100644
--- a/test/test_site.rb
+++ b/test/test_site.rb
@@ -76,6 +76,9 @@ def read_posts
       allow(File).to receive(:directory?).with(theme_dir("_sass")).and_return(true)
       allow(File).to receive(:directory?).with(theme_dir("_layouts")).and_return(true)
       allow(File).to receive(:directory?).with(theme_dir("_includes")).and_return(false)
+      allow(File).to receive(:directory?).with(
+        File.expand_path(".jekyll-cache/Jekyll/Cache/Jekyll--Cache")
+      ).and_return(true)
       site = fixture_site("theme" => "test-theme")
       assert_equal [source_dir("_includes")], site.includes_load_paths
     end