diff --git a/docs/options-reference.md b/docs/options-reference.md
index 611ba26a2..8bc750d63 100644
--- a/docs/options-reference.md
+++ b/docs/options-reference.md
@@ -4,7 +4,20 @@ Here are all the options available when configuring the module and their default
 
 ```js
 {
-  // vue-i18n configuration
+  // vue-i18n configuration.
+  // See documentation: http://kazupon.github.io/vue-i18n/api/#constructor-options
+  // To be able to pass more complex configuration options that can't be stringified, it's also
+  // supported to set this property to a path to a local configuration file. File needs to export
+  // a function (that will be passed a Nuxt context as a parameter) or plain object.
+  // Example path: '~/plugins/vue-i18n.js'
+  // Example file content:
+  // export default context => {
+  //   return {
+  //     modifiers: {
+  //       snakeCase: (str) => str.split(' ').join('-')
+  //     }
+  //   }
+  // }
   vueI18n: {},
 
   // If true, vue-i18n-loader is added to Nuxt's Webpack config
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 24d4271fa..97f4e4e25 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -85,6 +85,7 @@
     "geckodriver": "1.19.1",
     "jest": "25.1.0",
     "jsdom": "16.2.0",
+    "messageformat": "^2.3.0",
     "nuxt": "2.11.0",
     "puppeteer-core": "2.1.1",
     "selenium-webdriver": "4.0.0-alpha.5",
diff --git a/src/plugins/main.js b/src/plugins/main.js
index a5a2d9c45..e3a7c22fe 100644
--- a/src/plugins/main.js
+++ b/src/plugins/main.js
@@ -184,7 +184,7 @@ export default async (context) => {
   }
 
   // Set instance options
-  app.i18n = new VueI18n(vueI18n)
+  app.i18n = new VueI18n(typeof vueI18n === 'function' ? vueI18n(context) : vueI18n)
   app.i18n.locales = locales
   app.i18n.defaultLocale = defaultLocale
   app.i18n.differentDomains = differentDomains
diff --git a/src/templates/options.js b/src/templates/options.js
index 765624e7a..e8e741f9c 100644
--- a/src/templates/options.js
+++ b/src/templates/options.js
@@ -10,6 +10,12 @@ function stringifyValue(value) {
 }
 
 for (const [key, value] of Object.entries(options)) {
+    if (key === 'vueI18n' && typeof value === 'string') {
+%>export const <%= key %> = require('<%= value %>').default
+<%
+    } else {
+%>export const <%= key %> = <%= stringifyValue(value) %>
+<%
+    }
+}
 %>
-export const <%= key %> = <%= stringifyValue(value) %>
-<% } %>
diff --git a/test/fixture/basic/plugins/vue-i18n.js b/test/fixture/basic/plugins/vue-i18n.js
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..b75764a16
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/fixture/basic/plugins/vue-i18n.js
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+import MessageFormat from 'messageformat'
+
+class CustomFormatter {
+  constructor (context) {
+    this._context = context
+    this._formatter = new MessageFormat(['en', 'fr'])
+    this._caches = Object.create(null)
+  }
+
+  interpolate (message, values) {
+    let fn = this._caches[message]
+    if (!fn) {
+      fn = this._formatter.compile(message.toUpperCase(), this._context.app.i18n.locale)
+      this._caches[message] = fn
+    }
+    return [fn(values)]
+  }
+}
+
+export default context => {
+  const formatter = new CustomFormatter(context)
+
+  return {
+    formatter,
+    messages: {
+      fr: {
+        home: 'Accueil',
+        about: 'À propos',
+        posts: 'Articles'
+      },
+      en: {
+        home: 'Homepage',
+        about: 'About us',
+        posts: 'Posts'
+      }
+    },
+    fallbackLocale: 'en'
+  }
+}
diff --git a/test/module.test.js b/test/module.test.js
index 84fdef605..413d4beea 100644
--- a/test/module.test.js
+++ b/test/module.test.js
@@ -825,6 +825,30 @@ describe('differentDomains enabled', () => {
   })
 })
 
+describe('external vue-i18n configuration', () => {
+  let nuxt
+
+  beforeAll(async () => {
+    const override = {
+      i18n: {
+        vueI18n: '~/plugins/vue-i18n.js'
+      }
+    }
+
+    nuxt = (await setup(loadConfig(__dirname, 'basic', override, { merge: true }))).nuxt
+  })
+
+  afterAll(async () => {
+    await nuxt.close()
+  })
+
+  test('uses custom message formatter', async () => {
+    const html = await get('/')
+    const dom = getDom(html)
+    expect(dom.querySelector('#current-page').textContent).toBe('page: HOMEPAGE')
+  })
+})
+
 describe('parsePages disabled', () => {
   let nuxt
 
diff --git a/types/nuxt-i18n.d.ts b/types/nuxt-i18n.d.ts
index 486d334d5..fda038527 100644
--- a/types/nuxt-i18n.d.ts
+++ b/types/nuxt-i18n.d.ts
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ declare namespace NuxtVueI18n {
       routesNameSeparator?: string
       seo?: boolean
       strategy?: 'no_prefix' | 'prefix_except_default' | 'prefix' | 'prefix_and_default'
-      vueI18n?: VueI18n.I18nOptions
+      vueI18n?: VueI18n.I18nOptions | string
       vuex?: VuexInterface | false
     }
   }
diff --git a/yarn.lock b/yarn.lock
index 24c27232d..8b67c97c7 100644
--- a/yarn.lock
+++ b/yarn.lock
@@ -8028,6 +8028,13 @@ make-dir@^3.0.0:
   dependencies:
     semver "^6.0.0"
 
+make-plural@^4.3.0:
+  version "4.3.0"
+  resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/make-plural/-/make-plural-4.3.0.tgz#f23de08efdb0cac2e0c9ba9f315b0dff6b4c2735"
+  integrity sha512-xTYd4JVHpSCW+aqDof6w/MebaMVNTVYBZhbB/vi513xXdiPT92JMVCo0Jq8W2UZnzYRFeVbQiQ+I25l13JuKvA==
+  optionalDependencies:
+    minimist "^1.2.0"
+
 makeerror@1.0.x:
   version "1.0.11"
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/makeerror/-/makeerror-1.0.11.tgz#e01a5c9109f2af79660e4e8b9587790184f5a96c"
@@ -8224,6 +8231,25 @@ merge2@^1.2.3, merge2@^1.3.0:
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/merge2/-/merge2-1.3.0.tgz#5b366ee83b2f1582c48f87e47cf1a9352103ca81"
   integrity sha512-2j4DAdlBOkiSZIsaXk4mTE3sRS02yBHAtfy127xRV3bQUFqXkjHCHLW6Scv7DwNRbIWNHH8zpnz9zMaKXIdvYw==
 
+messageformat-formatters@^2.0.1:
+  version "2.0.1"
+  resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/messageformat-formatters/-/messageformat-formatters-2.0.1.tgz#0492c1402a48775f751c9b17c0354e92be012b08"
+  integrity sha512-E/lQRXhtHwGuiQjI7qxkLp8AHbMD5r2217XNe/SREbBlSawe0lOqsFb7rflZJmlQFSULNLIqlcjjsCPlB3m3Mg==
+
+messageformat-parser@^4.1.2:
+  version "4.1.2"
+  resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/messageformat-parser/-/messageformat-parser-4.1.2.tgz#fd34ec39912a14868a1595eaeb742485ab8ab372"
+  integrity sha512-7dWuifeyldz7vhEuL96Kwq1fhZXBW+TUfbnHN4UCrCxoXQTYjHnR78eI66Gk9LaLLsAvzPNVJBaa66DRfFNaiA==
+
+messageformat@^2.3.0:
+  version "2.3.0"
+  resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/messageformat/-/messageformat-2.3.0.tgz#de263c49029d5eae65d7ee25e0754f57f425ad91"
+  integrity sha512-uTzvsv0lTeQxYI2y1NPa1lItL5VRI8Gb93Y2K2ue5gBPyrbJxfDi/EYWxh2PKv5yO42AJeeqblS9MJSh/IEk4w==
+  dependencies:
+    make-plural "^4.3.0"
+    messageformat-formatters "^2.0.1"
+    messageformat-parser "^4.1.2"
+
 methods@~1.1.2:
   version "1.1.2"
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/methods/-/methods-1.1.2.tgz#5529a4d67654134edcc5266656835b0f851afcee"