diff --git a/doc/book/template/zend-view.md b/doc/book/template/zend-view.md
index a4666813..afd30065 100644
--- a/doc/book/template/zend-view.md
+++ b/doc/book/template/zend-view.md
@@ -59,24 +59,80 @@ $templates = new ZendView($zendView);
 ## Layouts
 
 Unlike the other supported template engines, zend-view does not support layouts
-out-of-the-box.
+out-of-the-box. Expressive abstracts this fact away, providing two facilities
+for doing so:
 
-Layouts are accomplished in one of two ways:
+- You may pass a layout template name or `Zend\View\Model\ModelInterface`
+  instance representing the layout as the second argument to the constructor.
+- You may pass a "layout" parameter during rendering, with a value of either a
+  layout template name or a `Zend\View\Model\ModelInterface`
+  instance representing the layout. Passing a layout this way will override any
+  layout provided to the constructor.
 
-- Multiple rendering passes:
+In each case, the zend-view implementation will do a depth-first, recursive
+render in order to provide content within the selected layout.
 
-    ```php
-    $content = $templates->render('blog/entry', [ 'entry' => $entry ]);
-    $layout  = $templates->render('layout/layout', [ 'content' => $content ]);
-    ```
+### Layout name passed to constructor
 
-- View models.  To accomplish this, you will compose a view model for the
-  content, and pass it as a value to the layout:
+```php
+use Zend\Expressive\Template\ZendView;
+
+// Create the engine instance with a layout name:
+$zendView = new PhpRenderer(null, 'layout');
+```
+
+### Layout view model passed to constructor
+
+```php
+use Zend\Expressive\Template\ZendView;
+use Zend\View\Model\ViewModel
+
+// Create the layout view model:
+$layout = new ViewModel([
+    'encoding' => 'utf-8',
+    'cssPath'  => '/css/prod/',
+]);
+$layout->setTemplate('layout');
+
+// Create the engine instance with the layout:
+$zendView = new PhpRenderer(null, $layout);
+```
+
+### Provide a layout name when rendering
+
+```php
+$content = $templates->render('blog/entry', [
+    'layout' => 'blog',
+    'entry'  => $entry,
+]);
+```
+
+### Provide a layout view model when rendering
+
+```php
+use Zend\View\Model\ViewModel
+
+// Create the layout view model:
+$layout = new ViewModel([
+    'encoding' => 'utf-8',
+    'cssPath'  => '/css/blog/',
+]);
+$layout->setTemplate('layout');
+
+$content = $templates->render('blog/entry', [
+    'layout' => $layout,
+    'entry'  => $entry,
+]);
+```
+
+## Recommendations
+
+We recommend the following practices when using the zend-view adapter:
 
-    ```php
-    use Zend\View\Model\ViewModel;
-    
-    $viewModel = new ViewModel(['entry' => $entry]);
-    $viewModel->setTemplate('blog/entry');
-    $layout = $templates->render('layout/layout', [ 'content' => $viewModel ]);
-    ```
+- If using a layout, create a factory to return the layout view model as a
+  service; this allows you to inject it into middleware and add variables to it.
+- While we support passing the layout as a rendering parameter, be aware that if
+  you change engines, this may not be supported.
+- While you can use alternate resolvers, not all of them will work with the
+  `addPath()` implementation. As such, we recommend setting up resolvers and
+  paths only during creation of the template adapter.
diff --git a/src/Exception/RenderingException.php b/src/Exception/RenderingException.php
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..d4a36ced
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Exception/RenderingException.php
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+<?php
+/**
+ * Zend Framework (http://framework.zend.com/)
+ *
+ * @see       http://github.com/zendframework/zend-expressive for the canonical source repository
+ * @copyright Copyright (c) 2015 Zend Technologies USA Inc. (http://www.zend.com)
+ * @license   https://github.com/zendframework/zend-expressive/blob/master/LICENSE.md New BSD License
+ */
+
+namespace Zend\Expressive\Exception;
+
+use DomainException;
+
+class RenderingException extends DomainException implements ExceptionInterface
+{
+}
diff --git a/src/Template/ZendView.php b/src/Template/ZendView.php
index 6711bc63..4e03e0bf 100644
--- a/src/Template/ZendView.php
+++ b/src/Template/ZendView.php
@@ -9,6 +9,8 @@
 
 namespace Zend\Expressive\Template;
 
+use Zend\View\Model\ModelInterface;
+use Zend\View\Model\ViewModel;
 use Zend\View\Renderer\RendererInterface;
 use Zend\View\Renderer\PhpRenderer;
 use Zend\View\Resolver\ResolverInterface;
@@ -22,6 +24,11 @@ class ZendView implements TemplateInterface
 {
     use ArrayParametersTrait;
 
+    /**
+     * @var ViewModel
+     */
+    private $layout;
+
     /**
      * Paths and namespaces data store.
      */
@@ -30,7 +37,7 @@ class ZendView implements TemplateInterface
     /**
      * @var RendererInterface
      */
-    private $template;
+    private $renderer;
 
     /**
      * @var ResolverInterface
@@ -38,15 +45,47 @@ class ZendView implements TemplateInterface
     private $resolver;
 
     /**
-     * @param null|RendererInterface $template
+     * Constructor
+     *
+     * Allows specifying the renderer to use (any zend-view renderer is
+     * allowed), and optionally also the layout.
+     *
+     * The layout may be:
+     *
+     * - a string layout name
+     * - a ModelInterface instance representing the layout
+     *
+     * If no renderer is provided, a default PhpRenderer instance is created;
+     * omitting the layout indicates no layout should be used by default when
+     * rendering.
+     *
+     * @param null|RendererInterface $renderer
+     * @param null|string|ModelInterface $layout
+     * @throws InvalidArgumentException for invalid $layout types
      */
-    public function __construct(RendererInterface $template = null)
+    public function __construct(RendererInterface $renderer = null, $layout = null)
     {
-        if (null === $template) {
-            $template = $this->createRenderer();
+        if (null === $renderer) {
+            $renderer = $this->createRenderer();
+        }
+        $this->renderer = $renderer;
+        $this->resolver = $renderer->resolver();
+
+        if ($layout && is_string($layout)) {
+            $model = new ViewModel();
+            $model->setTemplate($layout);
+            $layout = $model;
+        }
+
+        if ($layout && ! $layout instanceof ModelInterface) {
+            throw new Exception\InvalidArgumentException(sprintf(
+                'Layout must be a string layout template name or a %s instance; received %s',
+                ModelInterface::class,
+                (is_object($layout) ? get_class($layout) : gettype($layout))
+            ));
         }
-        $this->template = $template;
-        $this->resolver = $template->resolver();
+
+        $this->layout = $layout;
     }
 
     /**
@@ -72,7 +111,17 @@ private function getDefaultResolver()
     }
 
     /**
-     * Render
+     * Render a template with the given parameters.
+     *
+     * If a layout was specified during construction, it will be used;
+     * alternately, you can specify a layout to use via the "layout"
+     * parameter, using either:
+     *
+     * - a string layout template name
+     * - a Zend\View\Model\ModelInterface instance
+     *
+     * Layouts specified with $params take precedence over layouts passed to
+     * the constructor.
      *
      * @param string $name
      * @param array|object $params
@@ -80,12 +129,14 @@ private function getDefaultResolver()
      */
     public function render($name, $params = [])
     {
-        $params = $this->normalizeParams($params);
-        return $this->template->render($name, $params);
+        return $this->renderModel(
+            $this->createModel($name, $this->normalizeParams($params)),
+            $this->renderer
+        );
     }
 
     /**
-     * Add a path for template
+     * Add a path for templates.
      *
      * @param string $path
      * @param string $namespace
@@ -112,4 +163,87 @@ public function getPaths()
         }
         return $paths;
     }
+
+    /**
+     * Create a view model from the template and parameters.
+     *
+     * Injects the created model in the layout view model, if present.
+     *
+     * If the $params contains a non-empty 'layout' key, that value will
+     * be used to seed a layout view model, if:
+     *
+     * - it is a string layout template name
+     * - it is a ModelInterface instance
+     *
+     * If a layout is discovered in this way, it will override the one set in
+     * the constructor, if any.
+     *
+     * @param string $name
+     * @param array $params
+     * @return ModelInterface
+     */
+    private function createModel($name, array $params)
+    {
+        $layout = $this->layout ? clone $this->layout : null;
+        if (array_key_exists('layout', $params) && $params['layout']) {
+            if (is_string($params['layout'])) {
+                $layout = new ViewModel();
+                $layout->setTemplate($params['layout']);
+                unset($params['layout']);
+            } elseif ($params['layout'] instanceof ModelInterface) {
+                $layout = $params['layout'];
+                unset($params['layout']);
+            }
+        }
+
+        if (array_key_exists('layout', $params) && is_string($params['layout']) && $params['layout']) {
+            $layout = new ViewModel();
+            $layout->setTemplate($params['layout']);
+            unset($params['layout']);
+        }
+
+        $model = new ViewModel($params);
+        $model->setTemplate($name);
+
+        if ($layout) {
+            $layout->addChild($model);
+            $model = $layout;
+        }
+
+        return $model;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Do a recursive, depth-first rendering of a view model.
+     *
+     * @param ModelInterface $model
+     * @param RendererInterface $renderer
+     * @return string
+     * @throws Exception\RenderingException if it encounters a terminal child.
+     */
+    private function renderModel(ModelInterface $model, RendererInterface $renderer)
+    {
+        foreach ($model as $child) {
+            if ($child->terminate()) {
+                throw new Exception\RenderingException('Cannot render; encountered a child marked terminal');
+            }
+
+            $capture = $child->captureTo();
+            if (empty($capture)) {
+                continue;
+            }
+
+            $result = $this->renderModel($child, $renderer);
+
+            if ($child->isAppend()) {
+                $oldResult = $model->{$capture};
+                $model->setVariable($capture, $oldResult . $result);
+                continue;
+            }
+
+            $model->setVariable($capture, $result);
+        }
+
+        return $renderer->render($model);
+    }
 }
diff --git a/test/Template/TestAsset/zendview-layout.phtml b/test/Template/TestAsset/zendview-layout.phtml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..0db1c312
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/Template/TestAsset/zendview-layout.phtml
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+<!DOCTYPE html>
+<html>
+<head>
+    <title>Layout Page</title>
+</head>
+<body>
+<?= $this->content ?>
+</body>
diff --git a/test/Template/TestAsset/zendview-layout2.phtml b/test/Template/TestAsset/zendview-layout2.phtml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..0b71aa4b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/Template/TestAsset/zendview-layout2.phtml
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+<!DOCTYPE html>
+<html>
+<head>
+    <title>ALTERNATE LAYOUT PAGE</title>
+</head>
+<body>
+<?= $this->content ?>
+</body>
diff --git a/test/Template/ZendViewTest.php b/test/Template/ZendViewTest.php
index 9e2ae92a..95498af5 100644
--- a/test/Template/ZendViewTest.php
+++ b/test/Template/ZendViewTest.php
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@
 use PHPUnit_Framework_TestCase as TestCase;
 use Zend\Expressive\Template\ZendView;
 use Zend\Expressive\Exception;
+use Zend\View\Model\ViewModel;
 use Zend\View\Renderer\PhpRenderer;
 use Zend\View\Resolver\TemplatePathStack;
 
@@ -31,14 +32,14 @@ public function testCanPassRendererToConstructor()
     {
         $template = new ZendView($this->render);
         $this->assertInstanceOf(ZendView::class, $template);
-        $this->assertAttributeSame($this->render, 'template', $template);
+        $this->assertAttributeSame($this->render, 'renderer', $template);
     }
 
     public function testInstantiatingWithoutEngineLazyLoadsOne()
     {
         $template = new ZendView();
         $this->assertInstanceOf(ZendView::class, $template);
-        $this->assertAttributeInstanceOf(PhpRenderer::class, 'template', $template);
+        $this->assertAttributeInstanceOf(PhpRenderer::class, 'renderer', $template);
     }
 
     public function testCanAddPathWithEmptyNamespace()
@@ -135,4 +136,92 @@ public function testCanRenderWithParameterObjects($params, $search)
         $content = str_replace('<?php echo $name ?>', $search, $content);
         $this->assertEquals($content, $result);
     }
+
+    /**
+     * @group layout
+     */
+    public function testWillRenderContentInLayoutPassedToConstructor()
+    {
+        $template = new ZendView(null, 'zendview-layout');
+        $template->addPath(__DIR__ . '/TestAsset');
+        $name = 'ZendView';
+        $result = $template->render('zendview', [ 'name' => $name ]);
+        $this->assertContains($name, $result);
+        $content = file_get_contents(__DIR__ . '/TestAsset/zendview.phtml');
+        $content = str_replace('<?php echo $name ?>', $name, $content);
+        $this->assertContains($content, $result);
+        $this->assertContains('<title>Layout Page</title>', $result, sprintf("Received %s", $result));
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * @group layout
+     */
+    public function testWillRenderContentInLayoutPassedDuringRendering()
+    {
+        $template = new ZendView(null);
+        $template->addPath(__DIR__ . '/TestAsset');
+        $name = 'ZendView';
+        $result = $template->render('zendview', [ 'name' => $name, 'layout' => 'zendview-layout' ]);
+        $this->assertContains($name, $result);
+        $content = file_get_contents(__DIR__ . '/TestAsset/zendview.phtml');
+        $content = str_replace('<?php echo $name ?>', $name, $content);
+        $this->assertContains($content, $result);
+
+        $this->assertContains('<title>Layout Page</title>', $result);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * @group layout
+     */
+    public function testLayoutPassedWhenRenderingOverridesLayoutPassedToConstructor()
+    {
+        $template = new ZendView(null, 'zendview-layout');
+        $template->addPath(__DIR__ . '/TestAsset');
+        $name = 'ZendView';
+        $result = $template->render('zendview', [ 'name' => $name, 'layout' => 'zendview-layout2' ]);
+        $this->assertContains($name, $result);
+        $content = file_get_contents(__DIR__ . '/TestAsset/zendview.phtml');
+        $content = str_replace('<?php echo $name ?>', $name, $content);
+        $this->assertContains($content, $result);
+
+        $this->assertContains('<title>ALTERNATE LAYOUT PAGE</title>', $result);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * @group layout
+     */
+    public function testCanPassViewModelForLayoutToConstructor()
+    {
+        $layout = new ViewModel();
+        $layout->setTemplate('zendview-layout');
+
+        $template = new ZendView(null, $layout);
+        $template->addPath(__DIR__ . '/TestAsset');
+        $name = 'ZendView';
+        $result = $template->render('zendview', [ 'name' => $name ]);
+        $this->assertContains($name, $result);
+        $content = file_get_contents(__DIR__ . '/TestAsset/zendview.phtml');
+        $content = str_replace('<?php echo $name ?>', $name, $content);
+        $this->assertContains($content, $result);
+        $this->assertContains('<title>Layout Page</title>', $result, sprintf("Received %s", $result));
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * @group layout
+     */
+    public function testCanPassViewModelForLayoutParameterWhenRendering()
+    {
+        $layout = new ViewModel();
+        $layout->setTemplate('zendview-layout2');
+
+        $template = new ZendView(null, 'zendview-layout');
+        $template->addPath(__DIR__ . '/TestAsset');
+        $name = 'ZendView';
+        $result = $template->render('zendview', [ 'name' => $name, 'layout' => $layout ]);
+        $this->assertContains($name, $result);
+        $content = file_get_contents(__DIR__ . '/TestAsset/zendview.phtml');
+        $content = str_replace('<?php echo $name ?>', $name, $content);
+        $this->assertContains($content, $result);
+        $this->assertContains('<title>ALTERNATE LAYOUT PAGE</title>', $result);
+    }
 }