diff --git a/cdist/conf/type/__package_apt/gencode-remote b/cdist/conf/type/__package_apt/gencode-remote
index f3d91566..fbfca330 100755
--- a/cdist/conf/type/__package_apt/gencode-remote
+++ b/cdist/conf/type/__package_apt/gencode-remote
@@ -42,6 +42,13 @@ else
    target_release=""
 fi
 
+if [ -f "$__object/parameter/install-recommends" ]; then
+    # required if __apt_norecommends is used
+    recommendsparam="-o APT::Install-Recommends=1"
+else
+    recommendsparam="-o APT::Install-Recommends=0"
+fi
+
 if [ -f "$__object/parameter/purge-if-absent" ]; then
 	purgeparam="--purge"
 else
@@ -62,16 +69,16 @@ case "$state_is" in
     ;;
 esac
 
-# Hint if we need to avoid questions at some point:
-# DEBIAN_PRIORITY=critical can reduce the number of questions
-aptget="DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get --quiet --yes -o APT::Install-Recommends=0 -o Dpkg::Options::=\"--force-confdef\" -o Dpkg::Options::=\"--force-confold\""
-
 if [ "$state_is" = "$state_should" ]; then
     if [ -z "$version" ] || [ "$version" = "$version_is" ]; then
         exit 0;
     fi
 fi
 
+# Hint if we need to avoid questions at some point:
+# DEBIAN_PRIORITY=critical can reduce the number of questions
+aptget="DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get --quiet --yes -o Dpkg::Options::=\"--force-confdef\" -o Dpkg::Options::=\"--force-confold\""
+
 case "$state_should" in
     present)
         # following is bit ugly, but important hack.
@@ -85,7 +92,7 @@ EOF
         if [ -n "$version" ]; then
             name="${name}=${version}"
         fi
-        echo "$aptget install $target_release '$name'"
+        echo "$aptget $recommendsparam install $target_release '$name'"
         echo "installed" >> "$__messages_out"
     ;;
     absent)
diff --git a/cdist/conf/type/__package_apt/man.rst b/cdist/conf/type/__package_apt/man.rst
index a1691eac..4e6101a5 100644
--- a/cdist/conf/type/__package_apt/man.rst
+++ b/cdist/conf/type/__package_apt/man.rst
@@ -9,7 +9,9 @@ cdist-type__package_apt - Manage packages with apt-get
 DESCRIPTION
 -----------
 apt-get is usually used on Debian and variants (like Ubuntu) to
-manage packages.
+manage packages. The package will be installed without recommended
+or suggested packages. If such packages are required, install them
+separatly or use the parameter ``--install-recommends``.
 
 This type will also update package index, if it is older
 than one day, to avoid missing package error messages.
@@ -23,7 +25,7 @@ None
 OPTIONAL PARAMETERS
 -------------------
 name
-   If supplied, use the name and not the object id as the package name.
+    If supplied, use the name and not the object id as the package name.
 
 state
     Either "present" or "absent", defaults to "present"
@@ -39,6 +41,15 @@ version
 
 BOOLEAN PARAMETERS
 ------------------
+install-recommends
+    If the package will be installed, it also installs recommended packages
+    with it. It will not install recommended packages if the original package
+    is already installed.
+
+    In most cases, it is recommended to install recommended packages separatly
+    to control which additional packages will be installed to avoid useless
+    installed packages.
+
 purge-if-absent
     If this parameter is given when state is `absent`, the package is
     purged from the system (using `--purge`).
diff --git a/cdist/conf/type/__package_apt/parameter/boolean b/cdist/conf/type/__package_apt/parameter/boolean
index f9a0f6b0..a2e433f3 100644
--- a/cdist/conf/type/__package_apt/parameter/boolean
+++ b/cdist/conf/type/__package_apt/parameter/boolean
@@ -1 +1,2 @@
+install-recommends
 purge-if-absent