diff --git a/src/PkgTemplates.jl b/src/PkgTemplates.jl
index 7fe5abb..3e67469 100644
--- a/src/PkgTemplates.jl
+++ b/src/PkgTemplates.jl
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ using Base.Filesystem: contractuser
 using Dates: month, today, year
 using InteractiveUtils: subtypes
 using LibGit2: LibGit2
-using Pkg: Pkg, PackageSpec
+using Pkg: Pkg, TOML, PackageSpec
 using REPL.TerminalMenus: MultiSelectMenu, RadioMenu, request
 
 using Mustache: render
diff --git a/src/generate.jl b/src/generate.jl
index c0e7b02..276f1b3 100644
--- a/src/generate.jl
+++ b/src/generate.jl
@@ -1,5 +1,3 @@
-const TEST_UUID = "8dfed614-e22c-5e08-85e1-65c5234f0b40"
-
 """
     (::Template)(pkg::AbstractString)
 
@@ -14,17 +12,14 @@ function (t::Template)(pkg::AbstractString)
         # Create the directory with some boilerplate inside.
         Pkg.generate(pkg_dir)
 
-        # Add a [compat] section for Julia. By default, Julia 1.x is supported.
-        open(joinpath(pkg_dir, "Project.toml"), "a") do io
-            println(io, "\n[compat]\njulia = \"1\"")
-        end
-
-        # Replace the authors field with the template's authors.
+        # Replace the authors field with the template's authors, and add a compat entry.
         if !isempty(t.authors)
             path = joinpath(pkg_dir, "Project.toml")
-            project = read(path, String)
-            authors = string("[", join(map(repr ∘ strip, split(t.authors, ",")), ", "), "]")
-            write(path, replace(project, r"authors = .*" => "authors = $authors"))
+            toml = TOML.parsefile(path)
+            # TODO: authors should probably be kept as a vector.
+            toml["authors"] = split(t.authors, ",")
+            get!(toml, "compat", Dict())["julia"] = compat_version(t.julia_version)
+            open(io -> TOML.print(io, toml), path, "w")
         end
 
         if t.git
@@ -59,3 +54,14 @@ function (t::Template)(pkg::AbstractString)
         rethrow()
     end
 end
+
+# Format the version to be included in Project.toml's [compat] section.
+function compat_version(v::VersionNumber)
+    return if v.patch == 0 && v.minor == 0
+        string(v.major)
+    elseif v.patch == 0
+        "$(v.major).$(v.minor)"
+    else
+        "$(v.major).$(v.minor).$(v.patch)"
+    end
+end
diff --git a/src/plugins/essentials.jl b/src/plugins/essentials.jl
index 5522d68..e0db4fd 100644
--- a/src/plugins/essentials.jl
+++ b/src/plugins/essentials.jl
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+const TEST_UUID = "8dfed614-e22c-5e08-85e1-65c5234f0b40"
 const LICENSE_DIR = normpath(joinpath(@__DIR__, "..", "..", "licenses"))
 const LICENSES = Dict(
     "MIT" => "MIT \"Expat\" License",
@@ -98,16 +99,18 @@ function gen_plugin(p::Tests, t::Template, pkg_dir::AbstractString)
     # Do the normal BasicPlugin behaviour to create the test script.
     invoke(gen_plugin, Tuple{BasicPlugin, Template, AbstractString}, p, t, pkg_dir)
 
-    # Add the Test dependency as a test-only dependency.
-    # To avoid visual noise from adding/removing the dependency, insert it manually.
+    # Add Test as a test-only dependency.
+    path = joinpath(pkg_dir, "Project.toml")
+    toml = TOML.parsefile(path)
+    get!(toml, "extras", Dict())["Test"] = TEST_UUID
+    get!(toml, "targets", Dict())["test"] = ["Test"]
+    open(io -> TOML.print(io, toml), path, "w")
+
+    # Generate the manifest.
+    touch(joinpath(pkg_dir, "Manifest.toml"))  # File must exist to be modified by Pkg.
     proj = current_project()
     try
         Pkg.activate(pkg_dir)
-        lines = readlines(joinpath(pkg_dir, "Project.toml"))
-        dep = "Test = $(repr(TEST_UUID))"
-        push!(lines, "[extras]", dep, "", "[targets]", "test = [\"Test\"]")
-        gen_file(joinpath(pkg_dir, "Project.toml"), join(lines, "\n"))
-        touch(joinpath(pkg_dir, "Manifest.toml"))  # File must exist to be modified by Pkg.
         Pkg.update()  # Clean up both Manifest.toml and Project.toml.
     finally
         proj === nothing ? Pkg.activate() : Pkg.activate(proj)