diff --git a/packages/grafana-data/src/types/datasource.ts b/packages/grafana-data/src/types/datasource.ts
index e38a5108a8c..f6cfcdb874f 100644
--- a/packages/grafana-data/src/types/datasource.ts
+++ b/packages/grafana-data/src/types/datasource.ts
@@ -4,12 +4,13 @@ import { GrafanaPlugin, PluginMeta } from './plugin';
 import { PanelData } from './panel';
 import { LogRowModel } from './logs';
 import { AnnotationEvent, AnnotationSupport } from './annotations';
-import { KeyValue, LoadingState, TableData, TimeSeries, DataTopic } from './data';
+import { DataTopic, KeyValue, LoadingState, TableData, TimeSeries } from './data';
 import { DataFrame, DataFrameDTO } from './dataFrame';
 import { RawTimeRange, TimeRange } from './time';
 import { ScopedVars } from './ScopedVars';
 import { CoreApp } from './app';
 import { LiveChannelSupport } from './live';
+import { CustomVariableSupport, DataSourceVariableSupport, StandardVariableSupport } from './variables';
 
 export interface DataSourcePluginOptionsEditorProps<JSONData = DataSourceJsonData, SecureJSONData = {}> {
   options: DataSourceSettings<JSONData, SecureJSONData>;
@@ -79,6 +80,9 @@ export class DataSourcePlugin<
     return this;
   }
 
+  /*
+   * @deprecated -- prefer using {@link StandardVariableSupport} or {@link CustomVariableSupport} or {@link DataSourceVariableSupport} in data source instead
+   * */
   setVariableQueryEditor(VariableQueryEditor: any) {
     this.components.VariableQueryEditor = VariableQueryEditor;
     return this;
@@ -295,6 +299,15 @@ export abstract class DataSourceApi<
    * @alpha -- experimental
    */
   channelSupport?: LiveChannelSupport;
+
+  /**
+   * Defines new variable support
+   * @alpha -- experimental
+   */
+  variables?:
+    | StandardVariableSupport<DataSourceApi<TQuery, TOptions>>
+    | CustomVariableSupport<DataSourceApi<TQuery, TOptions>>
+    | DataSourceVariableSupport<DataSourceApi<TQuery, TOptions>>;
 }
 
 export interface MetadataInspectorProps<
@@ -311,12 +324,13 @@ export interface MetadataInspectorProps<
 export interface QueryEditorProps<
   DSType extends DataSourceApi<TQuery, TOptions>,
   TQuery extends DataQuery = DataQuery,
-  TOptions extends DataSourceJsonData = DataSourceJsonData
+  TOptions extends DataSourceJsonData = DataSourceJsonData,
+  TVQuery extends DataQuery = TQuery
 > {
   datasource: DSType;
-  query: TQuery;
+  query: TVQuery;
   onRunQuery: () => void;
-  onChange: (value: TQuery) => void;
+  onChange: (value: TVQuery) => void;
   onBlur?: () => void;
   /**
    * Contains query response filtered by refId of QueryResultBase and possible query error
diff --git a/packages/grafana-data/src/types/index.ts b/packages/grafana-data/src/types/index.ts
index 7a1ac746ed2..8d31ee8b3cc 100644
--- a/packages/grafana-data/src/types/index.ts
+++ b/packages/grafana-data/src/types/index.ts
@@ -28,5 +28,6 @@ export * from './trace';
 export * from './explore';
 export * from './legacyEvents';
 export * from './live';
+export * from './variables';
 
 export { GrafanaConfig, BuildInfo, FeatureToggles, LicenseInfo } from './config';
diff --git a/packages/grafana-data/src/types/variables.ts b/packages/grafana-data/src/types/variables.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..5c0aac20832
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/grafana-data/src/types/variables.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,99 @@
+import { ComponentType } from 'react';
+import { Observable } from 'rxjs';
+
+import {
+  DataQuery,
+  DataQueryRequest,
+  DataQueryResponse,
+  DataSourceApi,
+  DataSourceJsonData,
+  DataSourceOptionsType,
+  DataSourceQueryType,
+  QueryEditorProps,
+} from './datasource';
+
+/**
+ * Enum with the different variable support types
+ *
+ * @alpha -- experimental
+ */
+export enum VariableSupportType {
+  Legacy = 'legacy',
+  Standard = 'standard',
+  Custom = 'custom',
+  Datasource = 'datasource',
+}
+
+/**
+ * Base class for VariableSupport classes
+ *
+ * @alpha -- experimental
+ */
+export abstract class VariableSupportBase<
+  DSType extends DataSourceApi<TQuery, TOptions>,
+  TQuery extends DataQuery = DataSourceQueryType<DSType>,
+  TOptions extends DataSourceJsonData = DataSourceOptionsType<DSType>
+> {
+  abstract getType(): VariableSupportType;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Extend this class in a data source plugin to use the standard query editor for Query variables
+ *
+ * @alpha -- experimental
+ */
+export abstract class StandardVariableSupport<
+  DSType extends DataSourceApi<TQuery, TOptions>,
+  TQuery extends DataQuery = DataSourceQueryType<DSType>,
+  TOptions extends DataSourceJsonData = DataSourceOptionsType<DSType>
+> extends VariableSupportBase<DSType, TQuery, TOptions> {
+  getType(): VariableSupportType {
+    return VariableSupportType.Standard;
+  }
+
+  abstract toDataQuery(query: StandardVariableQuery): TQuery;
+  query?(request: DataQueryRequest<TQuery>): Observable<DataQueryResponse>;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Extend this class in a data source plugin to use a customized query editor for Query variables
+ *
+ * @alpha -- experimental
+ */
+export abstract class CustomVariableSupport<
+  DSType extends DataSourceApi<TQuery, TOptions>,
+  VariableQuery extends DataQuery = any,
+  TQuery extends DataQuery = DataSourceQueryType<DSType>,
+  TOptions extends DataSourceJsonData = DataSourceOptionsType<DSType>
+> extends VariableSupportBase<DSType, TQuery, TOptions> {
+  getType(): VariableSupportType {
+    return VariableSupportType.Custom;
+  }
+
+  abstract editor: ComponentType<QueryEditorProps<DSType, TQuery, TOptions, VariableQuery>>;
+  abstract query(request: DataQueryRequest<VariableQuery>): Observable<DataQueryResponse>;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Extend this class in a data source plugin to use the query editor in the data source plugin for Query variables
+ *
+ * @alpha -- experimental
+ */
+export abstract class DataSourceVariableSupport<
+  DSType extends DataSourceApi<TQuery, TOptions>,
+  TQuery extends DataQuery = DataSourceQueryType<DSType>,
+  TOptions extends DataSourceJsonData = DataSourceOptionsType<DSType>
+> extends VariableSupportBase<DSType, TQuery, TOptions> {
+  getType(): VariableSupportType {
+    return VariableSupportType.Datasource;
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Defines the standard DatQuery used by data source plugins that implement StandardVariableSupport
+ *
+ * @alpha -- experimental
+ */
+export interface StandardVariableQuery extends DataQuery {
+  query: string;
+}
diff --git a/public/app/app.ts b/public/app/app.ts
index 9058fc9e9e0..f523cff4440 100644
--- a/public/app/app.ts
+++ b/public/app/app.ts
@@ -28,10 +28,10 @@ import _ from 'lodash';
 import {
   AppEvents,
   setLocale,
+  setTimeZoneResolver,
   standardEditorsRegistry,
   standardFieldConfigEditorRegistry,
   standardTransformersRegistry,
-  setTimeZoneResolver,
 } from '@grafana/data';
 import appEvents from 'app/core/app_events';
 import { checkBrowserCompatibility } from 'app/core/utils/browser';
@@ -45,12 +45,13 @@ import { reportPerformance } from './core/services/echo/EchoSrv';
 import { PerformanceBackend } from './core/services/echo/backends/PerformanceBackend';
 import 'app/routes/GrafanaCtrl';
 import 'app/features/all';
-import { getStandardFieldConfigs, getStandardOptionEditors, getScrollbarWidth } from '@grafana/ui';
+import { getScrollbarWidth, getStandardFieldConfigs, getStandardOptionEditors } from '@grafana/ui';
 import { getDefaultVariableAdapters, variableAdapters } from './features/variables/adapters';
 import { initDevFeatures } from './dev';
 import { getStandardTransformers } from 'app/core/utils/standardTransformers';
 import { SentryEchoBackend } from './core/services/echo/backends/sentry/SentryBackend';
 import { monkeyPatchInjectorWithPreAssignedBindings } from './core/injectorMonkeyPatch';
+import { setVariableQueryRunner, VariableQueryRunner } from './features/variables/query/VariableQueryRunner';
 
 // add move to lodash for backward compatabiltiy
 // @ts-ignore
@@ -101,6 +102,7 @@ export class GrafanaApp {
     standardFieldConfigEditorRegistry.setInit(getStandardFieldConfigs);
     standardTransformersRegistry.setInit(getStandardTransformers);
     variableAdapters.setInit(getDefaultVariableAdapters);
+    setVariableQueryRunner(new VariableQueryRunner());
 
     app.config(
       (
diff --git a/public/app/features/dashboard/state/runRequest.ts b/public/app/features/dashboard/state/runRequest.ts
index f5e6f8ea016..327ba76190a 100644
--- a/public/app/features/dashboard/state/runRequest.ts
+++ b/public/app/features/dashboard/state/runRequest.ts
@@ -1,27 +1,27 @@
 // Libraries
-import { Observable, of, timer, merge, from } from 'rxjs';
-import { map as isArray, isString } from 'lodash';
-import { map, catchError, takeUntil, mapTo, share, finalize, tap } from 'rxjs/operators';
+import { from, merge, Observable, of, timer } from 'rxjs';
+import { isString, map as isArray } from 'lodash';
+import { catchError, finalize, map, mapTo, share, takeUntil, tap } from 'rxjs/operators';
 // Utils & Services
 import { backendSrv } from 'app/core/services/backend_srv';
 // Types
 import {
-  DataSourceApi,
+  DataFrame,
+  DataQueryError,
   DataQueryRequest,
-  PanelData,
   DataQueryResponse,
   DataQueryResponseData,
-  DataQueryError,
-  LoadingState,
-  dateMath,
-  toDataFrame,
-  DataFrame,
+  DataSourceApi,
   DataTopic,
+  dateMath,
   guessFieldTypes,
+  LoadingState,
+  PanelData,
+  toDataFrame,
 } from '@grafana/data';
 import { toDataQueryError } from '@grafana/runtime';
 import { emitDataRequestEvent } from './analyticsProcessor';
-import { ExpressionDatasourceID, expressionDatasource } from 'app/features/expressions/ExpressionDatasource';
+import { expressionDatasource, ExpressionDatasourceID } from 'app/features/expressions/ExpressionDatasource';
 import { ExpressionQuery } from 'app/features/expressions/types';
 
 type MapOfResponsePackets = { [str: string]: DataQueryResponse };
@@ -97,7 +97,11 @@ export function processResponsePacket(packet: DataQueryResponse, state: RunningQ
  *  Will emit a loading state if no response after 50ms
  *  Cancel any still running network requests on unsubscribe (using request.requestId)
  */
-export function runRequest(datasource: DataSourceApi, request: DataQueryRequest): Observable<PanelData> {
+export function runRequest(
+  datasource: DataSourceApi,
+  request: DataQueryRequest,
+  queryFunction?: typeof datasource.query
+): Observable<PanelData> {
   let state: RunningQueryState = {
     panelData: {
       state: LoadingState.Loading,
@@ -115,7 +119,7 @@ export function runRequest(datasource: DataSourceApi, request: DataQueryRequest)
     return of(state.panelData);
   }
 
-  const dataObservable = callQueryMethod(datasource, request).pipe(
+  const dataObservable = callQueryMethod(datasource, request, queryFunction).pipe(
     // Transform response packets into PanelData with merged results
     map((packet: DataQueryResponse) => {
       if (!isArray(packet.data)) {
@@ -157,7 +161,11 @@ function cancelNetworkRequestsOnUnsubscribe(req: DataQueryRequest) {
   };
 }
 
-export function callQueryMethod(datasource: DataSourceApi, request: DataQueryRequest) {
+export function callQueryMethod(
+  datasource: DataSourceApi,
+  request: DataQueryRequest,
+  queryFunction?: typeof datasource.query
+) {
   // If any query has an expression, use the expression endpoint
   for (const target of request.targets) {
     if (target.datasource === ExpressionDatasourceID) {
@@ -166,7 +174,7 @@ export function callQueryMethod(datasource: DataSourceApi, request: DataQueryReq
   }
 
   // Otherwise it is a standard datasource request
-  const returnVal = datasource.query(request);
+  const returnVal = queryFunction ? queryFunction(request) : datasource.query(request);
   return from(returnVal);
 }
 
diff --git a/public/app/features/plugins/variableQueryEditorLoader.tsx b/public/app/features/plugins/variableQueryEditorLoader.tsx
index afe9416a93f..2c2b6e14790 100644
--- a/public/app/features/plugins/variableQueryEditorLoader.tsx
+++ b/public/app/features/plugins/variableQueryEditorLoader.tsx
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ import coreModule from 'app/core/core_module';
 import { importDataSourcePlugin } from './plugin_loader';
 import React from 'react';
 import ReactDOM from 'react-dom';
-import DefaultVariableQueryEditor from '../variables/editor/DefaultVariableQueryEditor';
+import { LegacyVariableQueryEditor } from '../variables/editor/LegacyVariableQueryEditor';
 import { DataSourcePluginMeta } from '@grafana/data';
 import { TemplateSrv } from '@grafana/runtime';
 
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ async function loadComponent(meta: DataSourcePluginMeta) {
   if (dsPlugin.components.VariableQueryEditor) {
     return dsPlugin.components.VariableQueryEditor;
   } else {
-    return DefaultVariableQueryEditor;
+    return LegacyVariableQueryEditor;
   }
 }
 
diff --git a/public/app/features/variables/editor/DefaultVariableQueryEditor.tsx b/public/app/features/variables/editor/DefaultVariableQueryEditor.tsx
deleted file mode 100644
index 2135747a15c..00000000000
--- a/public/app/features/variables/editor/DefaultVariableQueryEditor.tsx
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,46 +0,0 @@
-import React, { PureComponent } from 'react';
-import { VariableQueryProps } from 'app/types/plugins';
-import { selectors } from '@grafana/e2e-selectors';
-
-export default class DefaultVariableQueryEditor extends PureComponent<VariableQueryProps, any> {
-  constructor(props: VariableQueryProps) {
-    super(props);
-    this.state = { value: props.query };
-  }
-
-  onChange = (event: React.FormEvent<HTMLTextAreaElement>) => {
-    this.setState({ value: event.currentTarget.value });
-  };
-
-  onBlur = (event: React.FormEvent<HTMLTextAreaElement>) => {
-    this.props.onChange(event.currentTarget.value, event.currentTarget.value);
-  };
-
-  getLineCount() {
-    const { value } = this.state;
-
-    if (typeof value === 'string') {
-      return value.split('\n').length;
-    }
-
-    return 1;
-  }
-
-  render() {
-    return (
-      <div className="gf-form">
-        <span className="gf-form-label width-10">Query</span>
-        <textarea
-          rows={this.getLineCount()}
-          className="gf-form-input"
-          value={this.state.value}
-          onChange={this.onChange}
-          onBlur={this.onBlur}
-          placeholder="metric name or tags query"
-          required
-          aria-label={selectors.pages.Dashboard.Settings.Variables.Edit.QueryVariable.queryOptionsQueryInput}
-        />
-      </div>
-    );
-  }
-}
diff --git a/public/app/features/variables/editor/LegacyVariableQueryEditor.tsx b/public/app/features/variables/editor/LegacyVariableQueryEditor.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..96cd270e0c2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/public/app/features/variables/editor/LegacyVariableQueryEditor.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
+import React, { FC, useCallback, useState } from 'react';
+import { selectors } from '@grafana/e2e-selectors';
+
+import { VariableQueryProps } from 'app/types/plugins';
+import { InlineField, TextArea, useStyles } from '@grafana/ui';
+import { GrafanaTheme } from '@grafana/data';
+import { css } from 'emotion';
+
+export const LEGACY_VARIABLE_QUERY_EDITOR_NAME = 'Grafana-LegacyVariableQueryEditor';
+
+export const LegacyVariableQueryEditor: FC<VariableQueryProps> = ({ onChange, query }) => {
+  const styles = useStyles(getStyles);
+  const [value, setValue] = useState(query);
+  const onValueChange = useCallback(
+    (event: React.FormEvent<HTMLTextAreaElement>) => {
+      setValue(event.currentTarget.value);
+    },
+    [onChange]
+  );
+  const onBlur = useCallback(
+    (event: React.FormEvent<HTMLTextAreaElement>) => {
+      onChange(event.currentTarget.value, event.currentTarget.value);
+    },
+    [onChange]
+  );
+
+  return (
+    <div className="gf-form">
+      <InlineField label="Query" labelWidth={20} grow={false} className={styles.inlineFieldOverride}>
+        <span hidden />
+      </InlineField>
+      <TextArea
+        rows={getLineCount(value)}
+        className="gf-form-input"
+        value={value}
+        onChange={onValueChange}
+        onBlur={onBlur}
+        placeholder="metric name or tags query"
+        required
+        aria-label={selectors.pages.Dashboard.Settings.Variables.Edit.QueryVariable.queryOptionsQueryInput}
+      />
+    </div>
+  );
+};
+
+function getStyles(theme: GrafanaTheme) {
+  return {
+    inlineFieldOverride: css`
+      margin: 0;
+    `,
+  };
+}
+
+LegacyVariableQueryEditor.displayName = LEGACY_VARIABLE_QUERY_EDITOR_NAME;
+
+const getLineCount = (value: any) => {
+  if (value && typeof value === 'string') {
+    return value.split('\n').length;
+  }
+
+  return 1;
+};
diff --git a/public/app/features/variables/editor/VariableEditorList.tsx b/public/app/features/variables/editor/VariableEditorList.tsx
index df4f48c6953..448917c95e2 100644
--- a/public/app/features/variables/editor/VariableEditorList.tsx
+++ b/public/app/features/variables/editor/VariableEditorList.tsx
@@ -92,6 +92,11 @@ export class VariableEditorList extends PureComponent<Props> {
                 <tbody>
                   {this.props.variables.map((state, index) => {
                     const variable = state as QueryVariableModel;
+                    const definition = variable.definition
+                      ? variable.definition
+                      : typeof variable.query === 'string'
+                      ? variable.query
+                      : '';
                     const usages = getVariableUsages(variable.id, this.props.variables, this.props.dashboard);
                     const passed = usages > 0 || isAdHoc(variable);
                     return (
@@ -115,7 +120,7 @@ export class VariableEditorList extends PureComponent<Props> {
                             variable.name
                           )}
                         >
-                          {variable.definition ? variable.definition : variable.query}
+                          {definition}
                         </td>
 
                         <td style={{ width: '1%' }}>
diff --git a/public/app/features/variables/editor/getVariableQueryEditor.test.tsx b/public/app/features/variables/editor/getVariableQueryEditor.test.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..3eab35ea809
--- /dev/null
+++ b/public/app/features/variables/editor/getVariableQueryEditor.test.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,103 @@
+import { VariableSupportType } from '@grafana/data';
+import { getVariableQueryEditor, StandardVariableQueryEditor } from './getVariableQueryEditor';
+import { LegacyVariableQueryEditor } from './LegacyVariableQueryEditor';
+
+describe('getVariableQueryEditor', () => {
+  describe('happy cases', () => {
+    describe('when called with a data source with custom variable support', () => {
+      it('then it should return correct editor', async () => {
+        const editor: any = StandardVariableQueryEditor;
+        const datasource: any = {
+          variables: { getType: () => VariableSupportType.Custom, query: () => undefined, editor },
+        };
+
+        const result = await getVariableQueryEditor(datasource);
+
+        expect(result).toBe(editor);
+      });
+    });
+
+    describe('when called with a data source with standard variable support', () => {
+      it('then it should return correct editor', async () => {
+        const editor: any = StandardVariableQueryEditor;
+        const datasource: any = {
+          variables: { getType: () => VariableSupportType.Standard, toDataQuery: () => undefined },
+        };
+
+        const result = await getVariableQueryEditor(datasource);
+
+        expect(result).toBe(editor);
+      });
+    });
+
+    describe('when called with a data source with datasource variable support', () => {
+      it('then it should return correct editor', async () => {
+        const editor: any = StandardVariableQueryEditor;
+        const plugin = { components: { QueryEditor: editor } };
+        const importDataSourcePluginFunc = jest.fn().mockResolvedValue(plugin);
+        const datasource: any = { variables: { getType: () => VariableSupportType.Datasource }, meta: {} };
+
+        const result = await getVariableQueryEditor(datasource, importDataSourcePluginFunc);
+
+        expect(result).toBe(editor);
+        expect(importDataSourcePluginFunc).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+        expect(importDataSourcePluginFunc).toHaveBeenCalledWith({});
+      });
+    });
+
+    describe('when called with a data source with legacy variable support', () => {
+      it('then it should return correct editor', async () => {
+        const editor: any = StandardVariableQueryEditor;
+        const plugin = { components: { VariableQueryEditor: editor } };
+        const importDataSourcePluginFunc = jest.fn().mockResolvedValue(plugin);
+        const datasource: any = { metricFindQuery: () => undefined, meta: {} };
+
+        const result = await getVariableQueryEditor(datasource, importDataSourcePluginFunc);
+
+        expect(result).toBe(editor);
+        expect(importDataSourcePluginFunc).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+        expect(importDataSourcePluginFunc).toHaveBeenCalledWith({});
+      });
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('negative cases', () => {
+    describe('when variable support is not recognized', () => {
+      it('then it should return null', async () => {
+        const datasource: any = {};
+
+        const result = await getVariableQueryEditor(datasource);
+
+        expect(result).toBeNull();
+      });
+    });
+
+    describe('when called with a data source with datasource variable support but missing QueryEditor', () => {
+      it('then it should return throw', async () => {
+        const plugin = { components: {} };
+        const importDataSourcePluginFunc = jest.fn().mockResolvedValue(plugin);
+        const datasource: any = { variables: { getType: () => VariableSupportType.Datasource }, meta: {} };
+
+        await expect(getVariableQueryEditor(datasource, importDataSourcePluginFunc)).rejects.toThrow(
+          new Error('Missing QueryEditor in plugin definition.')
+        );
+        expect(importDataSourcePluginFunc).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+        expect(importDataSourcePluginFunc).toHaveBeenCalledWith({});
+      });
+    });
+
+    describe('when called with a data source with legacy variable support but missing VariableQueryEditor', () => {
+      it('then it should return LegacyVariableQueryEditor', async () => {
+        const plugin = { components: {} };
+        const importDataSourcePluginFunc = jest.fn().mockResolvedValue(plugin);
+        const datasource: any = { metricFindQuery: () => undefined, meta: {} };
+
+        const result = await getVariableQueryEditor(datasource, importDataSourcePluginFunc);
+
+        expect(result).toBe(LegacyVariableQueryEditor);
+        expect(importDataSourcePluginFunc).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+        expect(importDataSourcePluginFunc).toHaveBeenCalledWith({});
+      });
+    });
+  });
+});
diff --git a/public/app/features/variables/editor/getVariableQueryEditor.tsx b/public/app/features/variables/editor/getVariableQueryEditor.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..5824530e5d9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/public/app/features/variables/editor/getVariableQueryEditor.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,72 @@
+import React, { useCallback } from 'react';
+import { DataQuery, DataSourceApi, DataSourceJsonData, QueryEditorProps, StandardVariableQuery } from '@grafana/data';
+import { getTemplateSrv } from '@grafana/runtime';
+
+import { LegacyVariableQueryEditor } from './LegacyVariableQueryEditor';
+import {
+  hasCustomVariableSupport,
+  hasDatasourceVariableSupport,
+  hasLegacyVariableSupport,
+  hasStandardVariableSupport,
+} from '../guard';
+import { importDataSourcePlugin } from '../../plugins/plugin_loader';
+import { VariableQueryEditorType } from '../types';
+
+export async function getVariableQueryEditor<
+  TQuery extends DataQuery = DataQuery,
+  TOptions extends DataSourceJsonData = DataSourceJsonData,
+  VariableQuery extends DataQuery = TQuery
+>(
+  datasource: DataSourceApi<TQuery, TOptions>,
+  importDataSourcePluginFunc = importDataSourcePlugin
+): Promise<VariableQueryEditorType> {
+  if (hasCustomVariableSupport(datasource)) {
+    return datasource.variables.editor;
+  }
+
+  if (hasDatasourceVariableSupport(datasource)) {
+    const dsPlugin = await importDataSourcePluginFunc(datasource.meta!);
+
+    if (!dsPlugin.components.QueryEditor) {
+      throw new Error('Missing QueryEditor in plugin definition.');
+    }
+
+    return dsPlugin.components.QueryEditor ?? null;
+  }
+
+  if (hasStandardVariableSupport(datasource)) {
+    return StandardVariableQueryEditor;
+  }
+
+  if (hasLegacyVariableSupport(datasource)) {
+    const dsPlugin = await importDataSourcePluginFunc(datasource.meta!);
+    return dsPlugin.components.VariableQueryEditor ?? LegacyVariableQueryEditor;
+  }
+
+  return null;
+}
+
+export function StandardVariableQueryEditor<
+  TQuery extends DataQuery = DataQuery,
+  TOptions extends DataSourceJsonData = DataSourceJsonData
+>({
+  datasource: propsDatasource,
+  query: propsQuery,
+  onChange: propsOnChange,
+}: QueryEditorProps<any, TQuery, TOptions, StandardVariableQuery>) {
+  const onChange = useCallback(
+    (query: any) => {
+      propsOnChange({ refId: 'StandardVariableQuery', query });
+    },
+    [propsOnChange]
+  );
+
+  return (
+    <LegacyVariableQueryEditor
+      query={propsQuery.query}
+      onChange={onChange}
+      datasource={propsDatasource}
+      templateSrv={getTemplateSrv()}
+    />
+  );
+}
diff --git a/public/app/features/variables/guard.test.ts b/public/app/features/variables/guard.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..081ee056be5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/public/app/features/variables/guard.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,243 @@
+import {
+  hasCustomVariableSupport,
+  hasDatasourceVariableSupport,
+  hasLegacyVariableSupport,
+  hasStandardVariableSupport,
+  isLegacyQueryEditor,
+  isQueryEditor,
+} from './guard';
+import { LegacyVariableQueryEditor } from './editor/LegacyVariableQueryEditor';
+import { StandardVariableQueryEditor } from './editor/getVariableQueryEditor';
+import { VariableSupportType } from '@grafana/data';
+
+describe('type guards', () => {
+  describe('hasLegacyVariableSupport', () => {
+    describe('when called with a legacy data source', () => {
+      it('should return true', () => {
+        const datasource: any = { metricFindQuery: () => undefined };
+        expect(hasLegacyVariableSupport(datasource)).toBe(true);
+      });
+    });
+
+    describe('when called with data source without metricFindQuery function', () => {
+      it('should return false', () => {
+        const datasource: any = {};
+        expect(hasLegacyVariableSupport(datasource)).toBe(false);
+      });
+    });
+
+    describe('when called with a legacy data source with variable support', () => {
+      it('should return false', () => {
+        const datasource: any = { metricFindQuery: () => undefined, variables: {} };
+        expect(hasLegacyVariableSupport(datasource)).toBe(false);
+      });
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('hasStandardVariableSupport', () => {
+    describe('when called with a data source with standard variable support', () => {
+      it('should return true', () => {
+        const datasource: any = {
+          metricFindQuery: () => undefined,
+          variables: { getType: () => VariableSupportType.Standard, toDataQuery: () => undefined },
+        };
+        expect(hasStandardVariableSupport(datasource)).toBe(true);
+      });
+
+      describe('and with a custom query', () => {
+        it('should return true', () => {
+          const datasource: any = {
+            metricFindQuery: () => undefined,
+            variables: {
+              getType: () => VariableSupportType.Standard,
+              toDataQuery: () => undefined,
+              query: () => undefined,
+            },
+          };
+          expect(hasStandardVariableSupport(datasource)).toBe(true);
+        });
+      });
+    });
+
+    describe('when called with a data source with partial standard variable support', () => {
+      it('should return false', () => {
+        const datasource: any = {
+          metricFindQuery: () => undefined,
+          variables: { getType: () => VariableSupportType.Standard, query: () => undefined },
+        };
+        expect(hasStandardVariableSupport(datasource)).toBe(false);
+      });
+    });
+
+    describe('when called with a data source without standard variable support', () => {
+      it('should return false', () => {
+        const datasource: any = { metricFindQuery: () => undefined };
+        expect(hasStandardVariableSupport(datasource)).toBe(false);
+      });
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('hasCustomVariableSupport', () => {
+    describe('when called with a data source with custom variable support', () => {
+      it('should return true', () => {
+        const datasource: any = {
+          metricFindQuery: () => undefined,
+          variables: { getType: () => VariableSupportType.Custom, query: () => undefined, editor: {} },
+        };
+        expect(hasCustomVariableSupport(datasource)).toBe(true);
+      });
+    });
+
+    describe('when called with a data source with custom variable support but without editor', () => {
+      it('should return false', () => {
+        const datasource: any = {
+          metricFindQuery: () => undefined,
+          variables: { getType: () => VariableSupportType.Custom, query: () => undefined },
+        };
+        expect(hasCustomVariableSupport(datasource)).toBe(false);
+      });
+    });
+
+    describe('when called with a data source with custom variable support but without query', () => {
+      it('should return false', () => {
+        const datasource: any = {
+          metricFindQuery: () => undefined,
+          variables: { getType: () => VariableSupportType.Custom, editor: {} },
+        };
+        expect(hasCustomVariableSupport(datasource)).toBe(false);
+      });
+    });
+
+    describe('when called with a data source without custom variable support', () => {
+      it('should return false', () => {
+        const datasource: any = { metricFindQuery: () => undefined };
+        expect(hasCustomVariableSupport(datasource)).toBe(false);
+      });
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('hasDatasourceVariableSupport', () => {
+    describe('when called with a data source with datasource variable support', () => {
+      it('should return true', () => {
+        const datasource: any = {
+          metricFindQuery: () => undefined,
+          variables: { getType: () => VariableSupportType.Datasource },
+        };
+        expect(hasDatasourceVariableSupport(datasource)).toBe(true);
+      });
+    });
+
+    describe('when called with a data source without datasource variable support', () => {
+      it('should return false', () => {
+        const datasource: any = { metricFindQuery: () => undefined };
+        expect(hasDatasourceVariableSupport(datasource)).toBe(false);
+      });
+    });
+  });
+});
+
+describe('isLegacyQueryEditor', () => {
+  describe('happy cases', () => {
+    describe('when called with a legacy query editor but without a legacy data source', () => {
+      it('then is should return true', () => {
+        const component: any = LegacyVariableQueryEditor;
+        const datasource: any = {};
+
+        expect(isLegacyQueryEditor(component, datasource)).toBe(true);
+      });
+    });
+
+    describe('when called with a legacy data source but without a legacy query editor', () => {
+      it('then is should return true', () => {
+        const component: any = StandardVariableQueryEditor;
+        const datasource: any = { metricFindQuery: () => undefined };
+
+        expect(isLegacyQueryEditor(component, datasource)).toBe(true);
+      });
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('negative cases', () => {
+    describe('when called without component', () => {
+      it('then is should return false', () => {
+        const component: any = null;
+        const datasource: any = { metricFindQuery: () => undefined };
+
+        expect(isLegacyQueryEditor(component, datasource)).toBe(false);
+      });
+    });
+
+    describe('when called without a legacy query editor and without a legacy data source', () => {
+      it('then is should return false', () => {
+        const component: any = StandardVariableQueryEditor;
+        const datasource: any = {};
+
+        expect(isLegacyQueryEditor(component, datasource)).toBe(false);
+      });
+    });
+  });
+});
+
+describe('isQueryEditor', () => {
+  describe('happy cases', () => {
+    describe('when called without a legacy editor and with a data source with standard variable support', () => {
+      it('then is should return true', () => {
+        const component: any = StandardVariableQueryEditor;
+        const datasource: any = {
+          variables: { getType: () => VariableSupportType.Standard, toDataQuery: () => undefined },
+        };
+
+        expect(isQueryEditor(component, datasource)).toBe(true);
+      });
+    });
+
+    describe('when called without a legacy editor and with a data source with custom variable support', () => {
+      it('then is should return true', () => {
+        const component: any = StandardVariableQueryEditor;
+        const datasource: any = {
+          variables: { getType: () => VariableSupportType.Custom, query: () => undefined, editor: {} },
+        };
+
+        expect(isQueryEditor(component, datasource)).toBe(true);
+      });
+    });
+
+    describe('when called without a legacy editor and with a data source with datasource variable support', () => {
+      it('then is should return true', () => {
+        const component: any = StandardVariableQueryEditor;
+        const datasource: any = { variables: { getType: () => VariableSupportType.Datasource } };
+
+        expect(isQueryEditor(component, datasource)).toBe(true);
+      });
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('negative cases', () => {
+    describe('when called without component', () => {
+      it('then is should return false', () => {
+        const component: any = null;
+        const datasource: any = { metricFindQuery: () => undefined };
+
+        expect(isQueryEditor(component, datasource)).toBe(false);
+      });
+    });
+
+    describe('when called with a legacy query editor', () => {
+      it('then is should return false', () => {
+        const component: any = LegacyVariableQueryEditor;
+        const datasource: any = { variables: { getType: () => VariableSupportType.Datasource } };
+
+        expect(isQueryEditor(component, datasource)).toBe(false);
+      });
+    });
+
+    describe('when called without a legacy query editor but with a legacy data source', () => {
+      it('then is should return false', () => {
+        const component: any = StandardVariableQueryEditor;
+        const datasource: any = { metricFindQuery: () => undefined };
+
+        expect(isQueryEditor(component, datasource)).toBe(false);
+      });
+    });
+  });
+});
diff --git a/public/app/features/variables/guard.ts b/public/app/features/variables/guard.ts
index 99fb6f15ce8..22a481353d1 100644
--- a/public/app/features/variables/guard.ts
+++ b/public/app/features/variables/guard.ts
@@ -1,10 +1,29 @@
+import { ComponentType } from 'react';
+import { Observable } from 'rxjs';
+import {
+  CustomVariableSupport,
+  DataQuery,
+  DataQueryRequest,
+  DataQueryResponse,
+  DataSourceApi,
+  DataSourceJsonData,
+  MetricFindValue,
+  QueryEditorProps,
+  StandardVariableQuery,
+  StandardVariableSupport,
+  VariableSupportType,
+} from '@grafana/data';
+
 import {
   AdHocVariableModel,
   ConstantVariableModel,
   QueryVariableModel,
   VariableModel,
+  VariableQueryEditorType,
   VariableWithMultiSupport,
 } from './types';
+import { VariableQueryProps } from '../../types';
+import { LEGACY_VARIABLE_QUERY_EDITOR_NAME } from './editor/LegacyVariableQueryEditor';
 
 export const isQuery = (model: VariableModel): model is QueryVariableModel => {
   return model.type === 'query';
@@ -22,3 +41,140 @@ export const isMulti = (model: VariableModel): model is VariableWithMultiSupport
   const withMulti = model as VariableWithMultiSupport;
   return withMulti.hasOwnProperty('multi') && typeof withMulti.multi === 'boolean';
 };
+
+interface DataSourceWithLegacyVariableSupport<
+  TQuery extends DataQuery = DataQuery,
+  TOptions extends DataSourceJsonData = DataSourceJsonData
+> extends DataSourceApi<TQuery, TOptions> {
+  metricFindQuery(query: any, options?: any): Promise<MetricFindValue[]>;
+  variables: undefined;
+}
+
+interface DataSourceWithStandardVariableSupport<
+  TQuery extends DataQuery = DataQuery,
+  TOptions extends DataSourceJsonData = DataSourceJsonData
+> extends DataSourceApi<TQuery, TOptions> {
+  variables: {
+    getType(): VariableSupportType;
+    toDataQuery(query: StandardVariableQuery): TQuery;
+    query(request: DataQueryRequest<TQuery>): Observable<DataQueryResponse>;
+  };
+}
+
+interface DataSourceWithCustomVariableSupport<
+  VariableQuery extends DataQuery = any,
+  TQuery extends DataQuery = DataQuery,
+  TOptions extends DataSourceJsonData = DataSourceJsonData
+> extends DataSourceApi<TQuery, TOptions> {
+  variables: {
+    getType(): VariableSupportType;
+    editor: ComponentType<QueryEditorProps<any, TQuery, TOptions, VariableQuery>>;
+    query(request: DataQueryRequest<TQuery>): Observable<DataQueryResponse>;
+  };
+}
+
+interface DataSourceWithDatasourceVariableSupport<
+  TQuery extends DataQuery = DataQuery,
+  TOptions extends DataSourceJsonData = DataSourceJsonData
+> extends DataSourceApi<TQuery, TOptions> {
+  variables: {
+    getType(): VariableSupportType;
+  };
+}
+
+/*
+ * The following guard function are both TypeScript type guards.
+ * They also make the basis for the logic used by variableQueryRunner and determining which QueryEditor to use
+ * */
+export const hasLegacyVariableSupport = <
+  TQuery extends DataQuery = DataQuery,
+  TOptions extends DataSourceJsonData = DataSourceJsonData
+>(
+  datasource: DataSourceApi<TQuery, TOptions>
+): datasource is DataSourceWithLegacyVariableSupport<TQuery, TOptions> => {
+  return Boolean(datasource.metricFindQuery) && !Boolean(datasource.variables);
+};
+
+export const hasStandardVariableSupport = <
+  TQuery extends DataQuery = DataQuery,
+  TOptions extends DataSourceJsonData = DataSourceJsonData
+>(
+  datasource: DataSourceApi<TQuery, TOptions>
+): datasource is DataSourceWithStandardVariableSupport<TQuery, TOptions> => {
+  if (!datasource.variables) {
+    return false;
+  }
+
+  if (datasource.variables.getType() !== VariableSupportType.Standard) {
+    return false;
+  }
+
+  const variableSupport = datasource.variables as StandardVariableSupport<DataSourceApi<TQuery, TOptions>>;
+
+  return Boolean(variableSupport.toDataQuery);
+};
+
+export const hasCustomVariableSupport = <
+  TQuery extends DataQuery = DataQuery,
+  TOptions extends DataSourceJsonData = DataSourceJsonData
+>(
+  datasource: DataSourceApi<TQuery, TOptions>
+): datasource is DataSourceWithCustomVariableSupport<any, TQuery, TOptions> => {
+  if (!datasource.variables) {
+    return false;
+  }
+
+  if (datasource.variables.getType() !== VariableSupportType.Custom) {
+    return false;
+  }
+
+  const variableSupport = datasource.variables as CustomVariableSupport<DataSourceApi<TQuery, TOptions>>;
+
+  return Boolean(variableSupport.query) && Boolean(variableSupport.editor);
+};
+
+export const hasDatasourceVariableSupport = <
+  TQuery extends DataQuery = DataQuery,
+  TOptions extends DataSourceJsonData = DataSourceJsonData
+>(
+  datasource: DataSourceApi<TQuery, TOptions>
+): datasource is DataSourceWithDatasourceVariableSupport<TQuery, TOptions> => {
+  if (!datasource.variables) {
+    return false;
+  }
+
+  return datasource.variables.getType() === VariableSupportType.Datasource;
+};
+
+export function isLegacyQueryEditor<
+  TQuery extends DataQuery = DataQuery,
+  TOptions extends DataSourceJsonData = DataSourceJsonData
+>(
+  component: VariableQueryEditorType,
+  datasource: DataSourceApi<TQuery, TOptions>
+): component is ComponentType<VariableQueryProps> {
+  if (!component) {
+    return false;
+  }
+
+  return component.displayName === LEGACY_VARIABLE_QUERY_EDITOR_NAME || hasLegacyVariableSupport(datasource);
+}
+
+export function isQueryEditor<
+  TQuery extends DataQuery = DataQuery,
+  TOptions extends DataSourceJsonData = DataSourceJsonData
+>(
+  component: VariableQueryEditorType,
+  datasource: DataSourceApi<TQuery, TOptions>
+): component is ComponentType<QueryEditorProps<any>> {
+  if (!component) {
+    return false;
+  }
+
+  return (
+    component.displayName !== LEGACY_VARIABLE_QUERY_EDITOR_NAME &&
+    (hasDatasourceVariableSupport(datasource) ||
+      hasStandardVariableSupport(datasource) ||
+      hasCustomVariableSupport(datasource))
+  );
+}
diff --git a/public/app/features/variables/pickers/OptionsPicker/OptionsPicker.tsx b/public/app/features/variables/pickers/OptionsPicker/OptionsPicker.tsx
index eb790b72f25..b97cd70f55a 100644
--- a/public/app/features/variables/pickers/OptionsPicker/OptionsPicker.tsx
+++ b/public/app/features/variables/pickers/OptionsPicker/OptionsPicker.tsx
@@ -1,7 +1,9 @@
 import React, { PureComponent } from 'react';
 import { connect, MapDispatchToProps, MapStateToProps } from 'react-redux';
-import { StoreState } from 'app/types';
 import { ClickOutsideWrapper } from '@grafana/ui';
+import { LoadingState } from '@grafana/data';
+
+import { StoreState } from 'app/types';
 import { VariableLink } from '../shared/VariableLink';
 import { VariableInput } from '../shared/VariableInput';
 import { commitChangesToVariable, filterOrSearchOptions, navigateOptions, toggleAndFetchTag } from './actions';
@@ -11,7 +13,8 @@ import { VariableOptions } from '../shared/VariableOptions';
 import { isQuery } from '../../guard';
 import { VariablePickerProps } from '../types';
 import { formatVariableLabel } from '../../shared/formatVariable';
-import { LoadingState } from '@grafana/data';
+import { toVariableIdentifier } from '../../state/types';
+import { getVariableQueryRunner } from '../../query/VariableQueryRunner';
 
 interface OwnProps extends VariablePickerProps<VariableWithMultiSupport> {}
 
@@ -70,9 +73,21 @@ export class OptionsPickerUnconnected extends PureComponent<Props> {
     const tags = getSelectedTags(variable);
     const loading = variable.state === LoadingState.Loading;
 
-    return <VariableLink text={linkText} tags={tags} onClick={this.onShowOptions} loading={loading} />;
+    return (
+      <VariableLink
+        text={linkText}
+        tags={tags}
+        onClick={this.onShowOptions}
+        loading={loading}
+        onCancel={this.onCancel}
+      />
+    );
   }
 
+  onCancel = () => {
+    getVariableQueryRunner().cancelRequest(toVariableIdentifier(this.props.variable));
+  };
+
   renderOptions(showOptions: boolean, picker: OptionsPickerState) {
     if (!showOptions) {
       return null;
diff --git a/public/app/features/variables/pickers/shared/VariableLink.tsx b/public/app/features/variables/pickers/shared/VariableLink.tsx
index 99a76d16c85..c2ca582616a 100644
--- a/public/app/features/variables/pickers/shared/VariableLink.tsx
+++ b/public/app/features/variables/pickers/shared/VariableLink.tsx
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import React, { FC, MouseEvent, useCallback } from 'react';
 import { css } from 'emotion';
-import { getTagColorsFromName, Icon, useStyles } from '@grafana/ui';
+import { getTagColorsFromName, Icon, Tooltip, useStyles } from '@grafana/ui';
 import { selectors } from '@grafana/e2e-selectors';
 import { GrafanaTheme } from '@grafana/data';
 
@@ -11,9 +11,10 @@ interface Props {
   text: string;
   tags: VariableTag[];
   loading: boolean;
+  onCancel: () => void;
 }
 
-export const VariableLink: FC<Props> = ({ loading, onClick: propsOnClick, tags, text }) => {
+export const VariableLink: FC<Props> = ({ loading, onClick: propsOnClick, tags, text, onCancel }) => {
   const styles = useStyles(getStyles);
   const onClick = useCallback(
     (event: MouseEvent<HTMLAnchorElement>) => {
@@ -32,7 +33,7 @@ export const VariableLink: FC<Props> = ({ loading, onClick: propsOnClick, tags,
         title={text}
       >
         <VariableLinkText tags={tags} text={text} />
-        <Icon className="spin-clockwise" name="sync" size="xs" />
+        <LoadingIndicator onCancel={onCancel} />
       </div>
     );
   }
@@ -71,6 +72,22 @@ const VariableLinkText: FC<Pick<Props, 'tags' | 'text'>> = ({ tags, text }) => {
   );
 };
 
+const LoadingIndicator: FC<Pick<Props, 'onCancel'>> = ({ onCancel }) => {
+  const onClick = useCallback(
+    (event: MouseEvent) => {
+      event.preventDefault();
+      onCancel();
+    },
+    [onCancel]
+  );
+
+  return (
+    <Tooltip content="Cancel query">
+      <Icon className="spin-clockwise" name="sync" size="xs" onClick={onClick} />
+    </Tooltip>
+  );
+};
+
 const getStyles = (theme: GrafanaTheme) => ({
   container: css`
     max-width: 500px;
diff --git a/public/app/features/variables/query/QueryVariableEditor.test.tsx b/public/app/features/variables/query/QueryVariableEditor.test.tsx
index c4df8f2c358..d9b6a21c23c 100644
--- a/public/app/features/variables/query/QueryVariableEditor.test.tsx
+++ b/public/app/features/variables/query/QueryVariableEditor.test.tsx
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ import { initialQueryVariableModelState } from './reducer';
 import { initialVariableEditorState } from '../editor/reducer';
 import { describe, expect } from '../../../../test/lib/common';
 import { NEW_VARIABLE_ID } from '../state/types';
-import DefaultVariableQueryEditor from '../editor/DefaultVariableQueryEditor';
+import { LegacyVariableQueryEditor } from '../editor/LegacyVariableQueryEditor';
 
 const setupTestContext = (options: Partial<Props>) => {
   const defaults: Props = {
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ const setupTestContext = (options: Partial<Props>) => {
     editor: {
       ...initialVariableEditorState,
       extended: {
-        VariableQueryEditor: DefaultVariableQueryEditor,
+        VariableQueryEditor: LegacyVariableQueryEditor,
         dataSources: [],
         dataSource: ({} as unknown) as DataSourceApi,
       },
diff --git a/public/app/features/variables/query/QueryVariableEditor.tsx b/public/app/features/variables/query/QueryVariableEditor.tsx
index 25853601cee..7d7d2e88aad 100644
--- a/public/app/features/variables/query/QueryVariableEditor.tsx
+++ b/public/app/features/variables/query/QueryVariableEditor.tsx
@@ -1,19 +1,22 @@
 import React, { ChangeEvent, PureComponent } from 'react';
+import { MapDispatchToProps, MapStateToProps } from 'react-redux';
 import { InlineFormLabel, LegacyForms } from '@grafana/ui';
 import { selectors } from '@grafana/e2e-selectors';
-
 import { getTemplateSrv } from '@grafana/runtime';
+import { LoadingState } from '@grafana/data';
+
 import { SelectionOptionsEditor } from '../editor/SelectionOptionsEditor';
 import { QueryVariableModel, VariableRefresh, VariableSort, VariableWithMultiSupport } from '../types';
 import { QueryVariableEditorState } from './reducer';
 import { changeQueryVariableDataSource, changeQueryVariableQuery, initQueryVariableEditor } from './actions';
 import { VariableEditorState } from '../editor/reducer';
 import { OnPropChangeArguments, VariableEditorProps } from '../editor/types';
-import { MapDispatchToProps, MapStateToProps } from 'react-redux';
 import { StoreState } from '../../../types';
 import { connectWithStore } from '../../../core/utils/connectWithReduxStore';
 import { toVariableIdentifier } from '../state/types';
 import { changeVariableMultiValue } from '../state/actions';
+import { getTimeSrv } from '../../dashboard/services/TimeSrv';
+import { isLegacyQueryEditor, isQueryEditor } from '../guard';
 
 const { Switch } = LegacyForms;
 
@@ -72,12 +75,24 @@ export class QueryVariableEditorUnConnected extends PureComponent<Props, State>
     this.props.onPropChange({ propName: 'datasource', propValue: event.target.value });
   };
 
-  onQueryChange = async (query: any, definition: string) => {
+  onLegacyQueryChange = async (query: any, definition: string) => {
     if (this.props.variable.query !== query) {
       this.props.changeQueryVariableQuery(toVariableIdentifier(this.props.variable), query, definition);
     }
   };
 
+  onQueryChange = async (query: any) => {
+    if (this.props.variable.query !== query) {
+      let definition = '';
+
+      if (query && query.hasOwnProperty('query') && typeof query.query === 'string') {
+        definition = query.query;
+      }
+
+      this.props.changeQueryVariableQuery(toVariableIdentifier(this.props.variable), query, definition);
+    }
+  };
+
   onRegExChange = (event: ChangeEvent<HTMLInputElement>) => {
     this.setState({ regex: event.target.value });
   };
@@ -127,8 +142,48 @@ export class QueryVariableEditorUnConnected extends PureComponent<Props, State>
     this.props.onPropChange({ propName: 'useTags', propValue: event.target.checked, updateOptions: true });
   };
 
+  renderQueryEditor = () => {
+    const { editor, variable } = this.props;
+    if (!editor.extended || !editor.extended.dataSource || !editor.extended.VariableQueryEditor) {
+      return null;
+    }
+
+    const query = variable.query;
+    const datasource = editor.extended.dataSource;
+    const VariableQueryEditor = editor.extended.VariableQueryEditor;
+
+    if (isLegacyQueryEditor(VariableQueryEditor, datasource)) {
+      return (
+        <VariableQueryEditor
+          datasource={datasource}
+          query={query}
+          templateSrv={getTemplateSrv()}
+          onChange={this.onLegacyQueryChange}
+        />
+      );
+    }
+
+    const range = getTimeSrv().timeRange();
+
+    if (isQueryEditor(VariableQueryEditor, datasource)) {
+      return (
+        <VariableQueryEditor
+          datasource={datasource}
+          query={query}
+          onChange={this.onQueryChange}
+          onRunQuery={() => {}}
+          data={{ series: [], state: LoadingState.Done, timeRange: range }}
+          range={range}
+          onBlur={() => {}}
+          history={[]}
+        />
+      );
+    }
+
+    return null;
+  };
+
   render() {
-    const VariableQueryEditor = this.props.editor.extended?.VariableQueryEditor;
     return (
       <>
         <div className="gf-form-group">
@@ -181,14 +236,7 @@ export class QueryVariableEditorUnConnected extends PureComponent<Props, State>
             </div>
           </div>
 
-          {VariableQueryEditor && this.props.editor.extended?.dataSource && (
-            <VariableQueryEditor
-              datasource={this.props.editor.extended?.dataSource}
-              query={this.props.variable.query}
-              templateSrv={getTemplateSrv()}
-              onChange={this.onQueryChange}
-            />
-          )}
+          {this.renderQueryEditor()}
 
           <div className="gf-form">
             <InlineFormLabel
diff --git a/public/app/features/variables/query/VariableQueryRunner.test.ts b/public/app/features/variables/query/VariableQueryRunner.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..0b1da5e6f39
--- /dev/null
+++ b/public/app/features/variables/query/VariableQueryRunner.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,396 @@
+import { of, throwError } from 'rxjs';
+import { DefaultTimeRange, LoadingState, VariableSupportType } from '@grafana/data';
+import { delay } from 'rxjs/operators';
+
+import { UpdateOptionsResults, VariableQueryRunner } from './VariableQueryRunner';
+import { queryBuilder } from '../shared/testing/builders';
+import { QueryRunner, QueryRunners } from './queryRunners';
+import { toVariableIdentifier, VariableIdentifier } from '../state/types';
+import { QueryVariableModel } from '../types';
+import { updateVariableOptions, updateVariableTags } from './reducer';
+
+type DoneCallback = {
+  (...args: any[]): any;
+  fail(error?: string | { message: string }): any;
+};
+
+function expectOnResults(args: {
+  runner: VariableQueryRunner;
+  identifier: VariableIdentifier;
+  done: DoneCallback;
+  expect: (results: UpdateOptionsResults[]) => void;
+}) {
+  const { runner, identifier, done, expect: expectCallback } = args;
+  const results: UpdateOptionsResults[] = [];
+  const subscription = runner.getResponse(identifier).subscribe({
+    next: value => {
+      results.push(value);
+      if (value.state === LoadingState.Done || value.state === LoadingState.Error) {
+        try {
+          expectCallback(results);
+          subscription.unsubscribe();
+          done();
+        } catch (err) {
+          subscription.unsubscribe();
+          done.fail(err);
+        }
+      }
+    },
+  });
+}
+
+function getTestContext(variable?: QueryVariableModel) {
+  variable =
+    variable ??
+    queryBuilder()
+      .withId('query')
+      .build();
+  const getTimeSrv = jest.fn().mockReturnValue({
+    timeRange: jest.fn().mockReturnValue(DefaultTimeRange),
+  });
+  const datasource: any = { metricFindQuery: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue([]) };
+  const identifier = toVariableIdentifier(variable);
+  const searchFilter = undefined;
+  const getTemplatedRegex = jest.fn().mockReturnValue('getTemplatedRegex result');
+  const dispatch = jest.fn().mockResolvedValue({});
+  const getState = jest.fn().mockReturnValue({
+    templating: {
+      transaction: {
+        uid: '0123456789',
+      },
+    },
+    variables: {
+      [variable.id]: variable,
+    },
+  });
+  const queryRunner: QueryRunner = {
+    type: VariableSupportType.Standard,
+    canRun: jest.fn().mockReturnValue(true),
+    getTarget: jest.fn().mockReturnValue({ refId: 'A', query: 'A query' }),
+    runRequest: jest.fn().mockReturnValue(of({ series: [], state: LoadingState.Done })),
+  };
+  const queryRunners = ({
+    getRunnerForDatasource: jest.fn().mockReturnValue(queryRunner),
+  } as unknown) as QueryRunners;
+  const getVariable = jest.fn().mockReturnValue(variable);
+  const runRequest = jest.fn().mockReturnValue(of({}));
+  const runner = new VariableQueryRunner({
+    getTimeSrv,
+    getTemplatedRegex,
+    dispatch,
+    getState,
+    getVariable,
+    queryRunners,
+    runRequest,
+  });
+
+  return {
+    identifier,
+    datasource,
+    runner,
+    searchFilter,
+    getTemplatedRegex,
+    dispatch,
+    getState,
+    queryRunner,
+    queryRunners,
+    getVariable,
+    runRequest,
+    variable,
+    getTimeSrv,
+  };
+}
+
+describe('VariableQueryRunner', () => {
+  describe('happy case', () => {
+    it('then it should work as expected', done => {
+      const {
+        identifier,
+        runner,
+        datasource,
+        getState,
+        getVariable,
+        queryRunners,
+        queryRunner,
+        dispatch,
+      } = getTestContext();
+
+      expectOnResults({
+        identifier,
+        runner,
+        expect: results => {
+          // verify that the observable works as expected
+          expect(results).toEqual([
+            { state: LoadingState.Loading, identifier },
+            { state: LoadingState.Done, identifier },
+          ]);
+
+          // verify that mocks have been called as expected
+          expect(getState).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(3);
+          expect(getVariable).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+          expect(queryRunners.getRunnerForDatasource).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+          expect(queryRunner.getTarget).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+          expect(queryRunner.runRequest).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+          expect(datasource.metricFindQuery).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+
+          // updateVariableOptions and validateVariableSelectionState
+          expect(dispatch).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2);
+          expect(dispatch.mock.calls[0][0]).toEqual(
+            updateVariableOptions({
+              id: 'query',
+              type: 'query',
+              data: { results: [], templatedRegex: 'getTemplatedRegex result' },
+            })
+          );
+        },
+        done,
+      });
+
+      runner.queueRequest({ identifier, datasource });
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('tags case', () => {
+    it('then it should work as expected', done => {
+      const variable = queryBuilder()
+        .withId('query')
+        .withTags(true)
+        .withTagsQuery('A tags query')
+        .build();
+      const {
+        identifier,
+        runner,
+        datasource,
+        getState,
+        getVariable,
+        queryRunners,
+        queryRunner,
+        dispatch,
+      } = getTestContext(variable);
+
+      expectOnResults({
+        identifier,
+        runner,
+        expect: results => {
+          // verify that the observable works as expected
+          expect(results).toEqual([
+            { state: LoadingState.Loading, identifier },
+            { state: LoadingState.Done, identifier },
+          ]);
+
+          // verify that mocks have been called as expected
+          expect(getState).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(3);
+          expect(getVariable).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+          expect(queryRunners.getRunnerForDatasource).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+          expect(queryRunner.getTarget).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+          expect(queryRunner.runRequest).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+          expect(datasource.metricFindQuery).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+
+          // updateVariableOptions, updateVariableTags and validateVariableSelectionState
+          expect(dispatch).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(3);
+          expect(dispatch.mock.calls[0][0]).toEqual(
+            updateVariableOptions({
+              id: 'query',
+              type: 'query',
+              data: { results: [], templatedRegex: 'getTemplatedRegex result' },
+            })
+          );
+          expect(dispatch.mock.calls[1][0]).toEqual(updateVariableTags({ id: 'query', type: 'query', data: [] }));
+        },
+        done,
+      });
+
+      runner.queueRequest({ identifier, datasource });
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('error cases', () => {
+    describe('queryRunners.getRunnerForDatasource throws', () => {
+      it('then it should work as expected', done => {
+        const {
+          identifier,
+          runner,
+          datasource,
+          getState,
+          getVariable,
+          queryRunners,
+          queryRunner,
+          dispatch,
+        } = getTestContext();
+
+        queryRunners.getRunnerForDatasource = jest.fn().mockImplementation(() => {
+          throw new Error('getRunnerForDatasource error');
+        });
+
+        expectOnResults({
+          identifier,
+          runner,
+          expect: results => {
+            // verify that the observable works as expected
+            expect(results).toEqual([
+              { state: LoadingState.Loading, identifier },
+              { state: LoadingState.Error, identifier, error: new Error('getRunnerForDatasource error') },
+            ]);
+
+            // verify that mocks have been called as expected
+            expect(getState).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2);
+            expect(getVariable).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+            expect(queryRunners.getRunnerForDatasource).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+            expect(queryRunner.getTarget).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+            expect(queryRunner.runRequest).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+            expect(datasource.metricFindQuery).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+            expect(dispatch).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+          },
+          done,
+        });
+
+        runner.queueRequest({ identifier, datasource });
+      });
+    });
+
+    describe('runRequest throws', () => {
+      it('then it should work as expected', done => {
+        const {
+          identifier,
+          runner,
+          datasource,
+          getState,
+          getVariable,
+          queryRunners,
+          queryRunner,
+          dispatch,
+        } = getTestContext();
+
+        queryRunner.runRequest = jest.fn().mockReturnValue(throwError(new Error('runRequest error')));
+
+        expectOnResults({
+          identifier,
+          runner,
+          expect: results => {
+            // verify that the observable works as expected
+            expect(results).toEqual([
+              { state: LoadingState.Loading, identifier },
+              { state: LoadingState.Error, identifier, error: new Error('runRequest error') },
+            ]);
+
+            // verify that mocks have been called as expected
+            expect(getState).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2);
+            expect(getVariable).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+            expect(queryRunners.getRunnerForDatasource).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+            expect(queryRunner.getTarget).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+            expect(queryRunner.runRequest).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+            expect(datasource.metricFindQuery).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+            expect(dispatch).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+          },
+          done,
+        });
+
+        runner.queueRequest({ identifier, datasource });
+      });
+    });
+
+    describe('metricFindQuery throws', () => {
+      it('then it should work as expected', done => {
+        const variable = queryBuilder()
+          .withId('query')
+          .withTags(true)
+          .withTagsQuery('A tags query')
+          .build();
+        const {
+          identifier,
+          runner,
+          datasource,
+          getState,
+          getVariable,
+          queryRunners,
+          queryRunner,
+          dispatch,
+        } = getTestContext(variable);
+
+        datasource.metricFindQuery = jest.fn().mockRejectedValue(new Error('metricFindQuery error'));
+
+        expectOnResults({
+          identifier,
+          runner,
+          expect: results => {
+            // verify that the observable works as expected
+            expect(results).toEqual([
+              { state: LoadingState.Loading, identifier },
+              { state: LoadingState.Error, identifier, error: new Error('metricFindQuery error') },
+            ]);
+
+            // verify that mocks have been called as expected
+            expect(getState).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(3);
+            expect(getVariable).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+            expect(queryRunners.getRunnerForDatasource).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+            expect(queryRunner.getTarget).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+            expect(queryRunner.runRequest).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+            expect(datasource.metricFindQuery).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+            expect(dispatch).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+          },
+          done,
+        });
+
+        runner.queueRequest({ identifier, datasource });
+      });
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('cancellation cases', () => {
+    describe('long running request is cancelled', () => {
+      it('then it should work as expected', done => {
+        const { identifier, datasource, runner, queryRunner } = getTestContext();
+
+        queryRunner.runRequest = jest
+          .fn()
+          .mockReturnValue(of({ series: [], state: LoadingState.Done }).pipe(delay(10000)));
+
+        expectOnResults({
+          identifier,
+          runner,
+          expect: results => {
+            // verify that the observable works as expected
+            expect(results).toEqual([
+              { state: LoadingState.Loading, identifier },
+              { state: LoadingState.Loading, identifier, cancelled: true },
+              { state: LoadingState.Done, identifier },
+            ]);
+          },
+          done,
+        });
+
+        runner.queueRequest({ identifier, datasource });
+        runner.cancelRequest(identifier);
+      });
+    });
+
+    describe('an identical request is triggered before first request is finished', () => {
+      it('then it should work as expected', done => {
+        const { identifier, datasource, runner, queryRunner } = getTestContext();
+
+        queryRunner.runRequest = jest
+          .fn()
+          .mockReturnValueOnce(of({ series: [], state: LoadingState.Done }).pipe(delay(10000)))
+          .mockReturnValue(of({ series: [], state: LoadingState.Done }));
+
+        expectOnResults({
+          identifier,
+          runner,
+          expect: results => {
+            // verify that the observable works as expected
+            expect(results).toEqual([
+              { state: LoadingState.Loading, identifier },
+              { state: LoadingState.Loading, identifier },
+              { state: LoadingState.Loading, identifier, cancelled: true },
+              { state: LoadingState.Done, identifier },
+            ]);
+          },
+          done,
+        });
+
+        runner.queueRequest({ identifier, datasource });
+        runner.queueRequest({ identifier, datasource });
+      });
+    });
+  });
+});
diff --git a/public/app/features/variables/query/VariableQueryRunner.ts b/public/app/features/variables/query/VariableQueryRunner.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..4ab45c5be8a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/public/app/features/variables/query/VariableQueryRunner.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,206 @@
+import { merge, Observable, of, Subject, throwError, Unsubscribable } from 'rxjs';
+import { catchError, filter, finalize, first, mergeMap, takeUntil } from 'rxjs/operators';
+import {
+  CoreApp,
+  DataQuery,
+  DataQueryRequest,
+  DataSourceApi,
+  DefaultTimeRange,
+  LoadingState,
+  ScopedVars,
+} from '@grafana/data';
+
+import { VariableIdentifier } from '../state/types';
+import { getVariable } from '../state/selectors';
+import { QueryVariableModel, VariableRefresh } from '../types';
+import { StoreState, ThunkDispatch } from '../../../types';
+import { dispatch, getState } from '../../../store/store';
+import { getTemplatedRegex } from '../utils';
+import { v4 as uuidv4 } from 'uuid';
+import { getTimeSrv } from '../../dashboard/services/TimeSrv';
+import { QueryRunners } from './queryRunners';
+import { runRequest } from '../../dashboard/state/runRequest';
+import {
+  runUpdateTagsRequest,
+  toMetricFindValues,
+  updateOptionsState,
+  updateTagsState,
+  validateVariableSelection,
+} from './operators';
+
+interface UpdateOptionsArgs {
+  identifier: VariableIdentifier;
+  datasource: DataSourceApi;
+  searchFilter?: string;
+}
+
+export interface UpdateOptionsResults {
+  state: LoadingState;
+  identifier: VariableIdentifier;
+  error?: any;
+  cancelled?: boolean;
+}
+
+interface VariableQueryRunnerArgs {
+  dispatch: ThunkDispatch;
+  getState: () => StoreState;
+  getVariable: typeof getVariable;
+  getTemplatedRegex: typeof getTemplatedRegex;
+  getTimeSrv: typeof getTimeSrv;
+  queryRunners: QueryRunners;
+  runRequest: typeof runRequest;
+}
+
+export class VariableQueryRunner {
+  private readonly updateOptionsRequests: Subject<UpdateOptionsArgs>;
+  private readonly updateOptionsResults: Subject<UpdateOptionsResults>;
+  private readonly cancelRequests: Subject<{ identifier: VariableIdentifier }>;
+  private readonly subscription: Unsubscribable;
+
+  constructor(
+    private dependencies: VariableQueryRunnerArgs = {
+      dispatch,
+      getState,
+      getVariable,
+      getTemplatedRegex,
+      getTimeSrv,
+      queryRunners: new QueryRunners(),
+      runRequest,
+    }
+  ) {
+    this.updateOptionsRequests = new Subject<UpdateOptionsArgs>();
+    this.updateOptionsResults = new Subject<UpdateOptionsResults>();
+    this.cancelRequests = new Subject<{ identifier: VariableIdentifier }>();
+    this.onNewRequest = this.onNewRequest.bind(this);
+    this.subscription = this.updateOptionsRequests.subscribe(this.onNewRequest);
+  }
+
+  queueRequest(args: UpdateOptionsArgs): void {
+    this.updateOptionsRequests.next(args);
+  }
+
+  getResponse(identifier: VariableIdentifier): Observable<UpdateOptionsResults> {
+    return this.updateOptionsResults.asObservable().pipe(filter(result => result.identifier === identifier));
+  }
+
+  cancelRequest(identifier: VariableIdentifier): void {
+    this.cancelRequests.next({ identifier });
+  }
+
+  destroy(): void {
+    this.subscription.unsubscribe();
+  }
+
+  private onNewRequest(args: UpdateOptionsArgs): void {
+    const { datasource, identifier, searchFilter } = args;
+    try {
+      const {
+        dispatch,
+        runRequest,
+        getTemplatedRegex: getTemplatedRegexFunc,
+        getVariable,
+        queryRunners,
+        getTimeSrv,
+        getState,
+      } = this.dependencies;
+
+      const beforeUid = getState().templating.transaction.uid;
+
+      this.updateOptionsResults.next({ identifier, state: LoadingState.Loading });
+
+      const variable = getVariable<QueryVariableModel>(identifier.id, getState());
+      const timeSrv = getTimeSrv();
+      const runnerArgs = { variable, datasource, searchFilter, timeSrv, runRequest };
+      const runner = queryRunners.getRunnerForDatasource(datasource);
+      const target = runner.getTarget({ datasource, variable });
+      const request = this.getRequest(variable, args, target);
+
+      runner
+        .runRequest(runnerArgs, request)
+        .pipe(
+          filter(() => {
+            // lets check if we started another batch during the execution of the observable. If so we just want to abort the rest.
+            const afterUid = getState().templating.transaction.uid;
+            return beforeUid === afterUid;
+          }),
+          first(data => data.state === LoadingState.Done || data.state === LoadingState.Error),
+          mergeMap(data => {
+            if (data.state === LoadingState.Error) {
+              return throwError(data.error);
+            }
+
+            return of(data);
+          }),
+          toMetricFindValues(),
+          updateOptionsState({ variable, dispatch, getTemplatedRegexFunc }),
+          runUpdateTagsRequest({ variable, datasource, searchFilter }),
+          updateTagsState({ variable, dispatch }),
+          validateVariableSelection({ variable, dispatch, searchFilter }),
+          takeUntil(
+            merge(this.updateOptionsRequests, this.cancelRequests).pipe(
+              filter(args => {
+                let cancelRequest = false;
+
+                if (args.identifier.id === identifier.id) {
+                  cancelRequest = true;
+                  this.updateOptionsResults.next({ identifier, state: LoadingState.Loading, cancelled: cancelRequest });
+                }
+
+                return cancelRequest;
+              })
+            )
+          ),
+          catchError(error => {
+            if (error.cancelled) {
+              return of({});
+            }
+
+            this.updateOptionsResults.next({ identifier, state: LoadingState.Error, error });
+            return throwError(error);
+          }),
+          finalize(() => {
+            this.updateOptionsResults.next({ identifier, state: LoadingState.Done });
+          })
+        )
+        .subscribe();
+    } catch (error) {
+      this.updateOptionsResults.next({ identifier, state: LoadingState.Error, error });
+    }
+  }
+
+  private getRequest(variable: QueryVariableModel, args: UpdateOptionsArgs, target: DataQuery) {
+    const { searchFilter } = args;
+    const variableAsVars = { variable: { text: variable.current.text, value: variable.current.value } };
+    const searchFilterScope = { searchFilter: { text: searchFilter, value: searchFilter } };
+    const searchFilterAsVars = searchFilter ? searchFilterScope : {};
+    const scopedVars = { ...searchFilterAsVars, ...variableAsVars } as ScopedVars;
+    const range =
+      variable.refresh === VariableRefresh.onTimeRangeChanged
+        ? this.dependencies.getTimeSrv().timeRange()
+        : DefaultTimeRange;
+
+    const request: DataQueryRequest = {
+      app: CoreApp.Dashboard,
+      requestId: uuidv4(),
+      timezone: '',
+      range,
+      interval: '',
+      intervalMs: 0,
+      targets: [target],
+      scopedVars,
+      startTime: Date.now(),
+    };
+
+    return request;
+  }
+}
+
+let singleton: VariableQueryRunner;
+
+export function setVariableQueryRunner(runner: VariableQueryRunner): void {
+  singleton = runner;
+}
+
+export function getVariableQueryRunner(): VariableQueryRunner {
+  return singleton;
+}
diff --git a/public/app/features/variables/query/actions.test.ts b/public/app/features/variables/query/actions.test.ts
index 33bf44b3510..68c67d42b12 100644
--- a/public/app/features/variables/query/actions.test.ts
+++ b/public/app/features/variables/query/actions.test.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { LoadingState } from '@grafana/data';
+import { DefaultTimeRange, LoadingState } from '@grafana/data';
 
 import { variableAdapters } from '../adapters';
 import { createQueryVariableAdapter } from './adapter';
@@ -18,6 +18,8 @@ import { TemplatingState } from '../state/reducers';
 import {
   changeQueryVariableDataSource,
   changeQueryVariableQuery,
+  flattenQuery,
+  hasSelfReferencingQuery,
   initQueryVariableEditor,
   updateQueryVariableOptions,
 } from './actions';
@@ -28,11 +30,13 @@ import {
   removeVariableEditorError,
   setIdInEditor,
 } from '../editor/reducer';
-import DefaultVariableQueryEditor from '../editor/DefaultVariableQueryEditor';
+import { LegacyVariableQueryEditor } from '../editor/LegacyVariableQueryEditor';
 import { expect } from 'test/lib/common';
 import { updateOptions } from '../state/actions';
 import { notifyApp } from '../../../core/reducers/appNotification';
 import { silenceConsoleOutput } from '../../../../test/core/utils/silenceConsoleOutput';
+import { getTimeSrv, setTimeSrv, TimeSrv } from '../../dashboard/services/TimeSrv';
+import { setVariableQueryRunner, VariableQueryRunner } from './VariableQueryRunner';
 
 const mocks: Record<string, any> = {
   datasource: {
@@ -62,6 +66,20 @@ jest.mock('../../templating/template_srv', () => ({
 }));
 
 describe('query actions', () => {
+  let originalTimeSrv: TimeSrv;
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    originalTimeSrv = getTimeSrv();
+    setTimeSrv(({
+      timeRange: jest.fn().mockReturnValue(DefaultTimeRange),
+    } as unknown) as TimeSrv);
+    setVariableQueryRunner(new VariableQueryRunner());
+  });
+
+  afterEach(() => {
+    setTimeSrv(originalTimeSrv);
+  });
+
   variableAdapters.setInit(() => [createQueryVariableAdapter()]);
 
   describe('when updateQueryVariableOptions is dispatched for variable with tags and includeAll', () => {
@@ -80,15 +98,11 @@ describe('query actions', () => {
       const option = createOption(ALL_VARIABLE_TEXT, ALL_VARIABLE_VALUE);
       const update = { results: optionsMetrics, templatedRegex: '' };
 
-      tester.thenDispatchedActionsPredicateShouldEqual(actions => {
-        const [updateOptions, updateTags, setCurrentAction] = actions;
-        const expectedNumberOfActions = 3;
-
-        expect(updateOptions).toEqual(updateVariableOptions(toVariablePayload(variable, update)));
-        expect(updateTags).toEqual(updateVariableTags(toVariablePayload(variable, tagsMetrics)));
-        expect(setCurrentAction).toEqual(setCurrentVariableValue(toVariablePayload(variable, { option })));
-        return actions.length === expectedNumberOfActions;
-      });
+      tester.thenDispatchedActionsShouldEqual(
+        updateVariableOptions(toVariablePayload(variable, update)),
+        updateVariableTags(toVariablePayload(variable, tagsMetrics)),
+        setCurrentVariableValue(toVariablePayload(variable, { option }))
+      );
     });
   });
 
@@ -135,14 +149,10 @@ describe('query actions', () => {
       const option = createOption('A');
       const update = { results: optionsMetrics, templatedRegex: '' };
 
-      tester.thenDispatchedActionsPredicateShouldEqual(actions => {
-        const [updateOptions, setCurrentAction] = actions;
-        const expectedNumberOfActions = 2;
-
-        expect(updateOptions).toEqual(updateVariableOptions(toVariablePayload(variable, update)));
-        expect(setCurrentAction).toEqual(setCurrentVariableValue(toVariablePayload(variable, { option })));
-        return actions.length === expectedNumberOfActions;
-      });
+      tester.thenDispatchedActionsShouldEqual(
+        updateVariableOptions(toVariablePayload(variable, update)),
+        setCurrentVariableValue(toVariablePayload(variable, { option }))
+      );
     });
   });
 
@@ -410,7 +420,7 @@ describe('query actions', () => {
   describe('when changeQueryVariableDataSource is dispatched and editor is not configured', () => {
     it('then correct actions are dispatched', async () => {
       const variable = createVariable({ datasource: 'other' });
-      const editor = DefaultVariableQueryEditor;
+      const editor = LegacyVariableQueryEditor;
 
       mocks.pluginLoader.importDataSourcePlugin = jest.fn().mockResolvedValue({
         components: {},
@@ -550,6 +560,162 @@ describe('query actions', () => {
       });
     });
   });
+
+  describe('hasSelfReferencingQuery', () => {
+    it('when called with a string', () => {
+      const query = '$query';
+      const name = 'query';
+
+      expect(hasSelfReferencingQuery(name, query)).toBe(true);
+    });
+
+    it('when called with an array', () => {
+      const query = ['$query'];
+      const name = 'query';
+
+      expect(hasSelfReferencingQuery(name, query)).toBe(true);
+    });
+
+    it('when called with a simple object', () => {
+      const query = { a: '$query' };
+      const name = 'query';
+
+      expect(hasSelfReferencingQuery(name, query)).toBe(true);
+    });
+
+    it('when called with a complex object', () => {
+      const query = {
+        level2: {
+          level3: {
+            query: 'query3',
+            refId: 'C',
+            num: 2,
+            bool: true,
+            arr: [
+              { query: 'query4', refId: 'D', num: 4, bool: true },
+              {
+                query: 'query5',
+                refId: 'E',
+                num: 5,
+                bool: true,
+                arr: [{ query: '$query', refId: 'F', num: 6, bool: true }],
+              },
+            ],
+          },
+          query: 'query2',
+          refId: 'B',
+          num: 1,
+          bool: false,
+        },
+        query: 'query1',
+        refId: 'A',
+        num: 0,
+        bool: true,
+        arr: [
+          { query: 'query7', refId: 'G', num: 7, bool: true },
+          {
+            query: 'query8',
+            refId: 'H',
+            num: 8,
+            bool: true,
+            arr: [{ query: 'query9', refId: 'I', num: 9, bool: true }],
+          },
+        ],
+      };
+      const name = 'query';
+
+      expect(hasSelfReferencingQuery(name, query)).toBe(true);
+    });
+
+    it('when called with a number', () => {
+      const query = 1;
+      const name = 'query';
+
+      expect(hasSelfReferencingQuery(name, query)).toBe(false);
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('flattenQuery', () => {
+    it('when called with a complex object', () => {
+      const query = {
+        level2: {
+          level3: {
+            query: '${query3}',
+            refId: 'C',
+            num: 2,
+            bool: true,
+            arr: [
+              { query: '${query4}', refId: 'D', num: 4, bool: true },
+              {
+                query: '${query5}',
+                refId: 'E',
+                num: 5,
+                bool: true,
+                arr: [{ query: '${query6}', refId: 'F', num: 6, bool: true }],
+              },
+            ],
+          },
+          query: '${query2}',
+          refId: 'B',
+          num: 1,
+          bool: false,
+        },
+        query: '${query1}',
+        refId: 'A',
+        num: 0,
+        bool: true,
+        arr: [
+          { query: '${query7}', refId: 'G', num: 7, bool: true },
+          {
+            query: '${query8}',
+            refId: 'H',
+            num: 8,
+            bool: true,
+            arr: [{ query: '${query9}', refId: 'I', num: 9, bool: true }],
+          },
+        ],
+      };
+
+      expect(flattenQuery(query)).toEqual({
+        query: '${query1}',
+        refId: 'A',
+        num: 0,
+        bool: true,
+        level2_query: '${query2}',
+        level2_refId: 'B',
+        level2_num: 1,
+        level2_bool: false,
+        level2_level3_query: '${query3}',
+        level2_level3_refId: 'C',
+        level2_level3_num: 2,
+        level2_level3_bool: true,
+        level2_level3_arr_0_query: '${query4}',
+        level2_level3_arr_0_refId: 'D',
+        level2_level3_arr_0_num: 4,
+        level2_level3_arr_0_bool: true,
+        level2_level3_arr_1_query: '${query5}',
+        level2_level3_arr_1_refId: 'E',
+        level2_level3_arr_1_num: 5,
+        level2_level3_arr_1_bool: true,
+        level2_level3_arr_1_arr_0_query: '${query6}',
+        level2_level3_arr_1_arr_0_refId: 'F',
+        level2_level3_arr_1_arr_0_num: 6,
+        level2_level3_arr_1_arr_0_bool: true,
+        arr_0_query: '${query7}',
+        arr_0_refId: 'G',
+        arr_0_num: 7,
+        arr_0_bool: true,
+        arr_1_query: '${query8}',
+        arr_1_refId: 'H',
+        arr_1_num: 8,
+        arr_1_bool: true,
+        arr_1_arr_0_query: '${query9}',
+        arr_1_arr_0_refId: 'I',
+        arr_1_arr_0_num: 9,
+        arr_1_arr_0_bool: true,
+      });
+    });
+  });
 });
 
 function mockDatasourceMetrics(variable: QueryVariableModel, optionsMetrics: any[], tagsMetrics: any[]) {
diff --git a/public/app/features/variables/query/actions.ts b/public/app/features/variables/query/actions.ts
index 5de8c8abb57..b07d54b345d 100644
--- a/public/app/features/variables/query/actions.ts
+++ b/public/app/features/variables/query/actions.ts
@@ -1,18 +1,19 @@
-import { DataSourcePluginMeta, DataSourceSelectItem } from '@grafana/data';
-import { toDataQueryError, getTemplateSrv } from '@grafana/runtime';
+import { DataQuery, DataSourceApi, DataSourcePluginMeta, DataSourceSelectItem } from '@grafana/data';
+import { toDataQueryError } from '@grafana/runtime';
 
-import { updateOptions, validateVariableSelectionState } from '../state/actions';
-import { QueryVariableModel, VariableRefresh } from '../types';
+import { updateOptions } from '../state/actions';
+import { QueryVariableModel } from '../types';
 import { ThunkResult } from '../../../types';
 import { getDatasourceSrv } from '../../plugins/datasource_srv';
-import { getTimeSrv } from '../../dashboard/services/TimeSrv';
-import { importDataSourcePlugin } from '../../plugins/plugin_loader';
-import DefaultVariableQueryEditor from '../editor/DefaultVariableQueryEditor';
 import { getVariable } from '../state/selectors';
 import { addVariableEditorError, changeVariableEditorExtended, removeVariableEditorError } from '../editor/reducer';
 import { changeVariableProp } from '../state/sharedReducer';
-import { updateVariableOptions, updateVariableTags } from './reducer';
 import { toVariableIdentifier, toVariablePayload, VariableIdentifier } from '../state/types';
+import { hasLegacyVariableSupport, hasStandardVariableSupport } from '../guard';
+import { getVariableQueryEditor } from '../editor/getVariableQueryEditor';
+import { Subscription } from 'rxjs';
+import { getVariableQueryRunner } from './VariableQueryRunner';
+import { variableQueryObserver } from './variableQueryObserver';
 
 export const updateQueryVariableOptions = (
   identifier: VariableIdentifier,
@@ -21,43 +22,24 @@ export const updateQueryVariableOptions = (
   return async (dispatch, getState) => {
     const variableInState = getVariable<QueryVariableModel>(identifier.id, getState());
     try {
-      const beforeUid = getState().templating.transaction.uid;
       if (getState().templating.editor.id === variableInState.id) {
         dispatch(removeVariableEditorError({ errorProp: 'update' }));
       }
-      const dataSource = await getDatasourceSrv().get(variableInState.datasource ?? '');
-      const queryOptions: any = { range: undefined, variable: variableInState, searchFilter };
-      if (variableInState.refresh === VariableRefresh.onTimeRangeChanged) {
-        queryOptions.range = getTimeSrv().timeRange();
-      }
-
-      if (!dataSource.metricFindQuery) {
-        return;
-      }
-
-      const results = await dataSource.metricFindQuery(variableInState.query, queryOptions);
-
-      const afterUid = getState().templating.transaction.uid;
-      if (beforeUid !== afterUid) {
-        // we started another batch before this metricFindQuery finished let's abort
-        return;
-      }
-
-      const templatedRegex = getTemplatedRegex(variableInState);
-      await dispatch(updateVariableOptions(toVariablePayload(variableInState, { results, templatedRegex })));
-
-      if (variableInState.useTags) {
-        const tagResults = await dataSource.metricFindQuery(variableInState.tagsQuery, queryOptions);
-        await dispatch(updateVariableTags(toVariablePayload(variableInState, tagResults)));
-      }
-
-      // If we are searching options there is no need to validate selection state
-      // This condition was added to as validateVariableSelectionState will update the current value of the variable
-      // So after search and selection the current value is already update so no setValue, refresh & url update is performed
-      // The if statement below fixes https://github.com/grafana/grafana/issues/25671
-      if (!searchFilter) {
-        await dispatch(validateVariableSelectionState(toVariableIdentifier(variableInState)));
-      }
+      const datasource = await getDatasourceSrv().get(variableInState.datasource ?? '');
+      dispatch(upgradeLegacyQueries(identifier, datasource));
+
+      // we need to await the result from variableQueryRunner before moving on otherwise variables dependent on this
+      // variable will have the wrong current value as input
+      await new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
+        const subscription: Subscription = new Subscription();
+        const observer = variableQueryObserver(resolve, reject, subscription);
+        const responseSubscription = getVariableQueryRunner()
+          .getResponse(identifier)
+          .subscribe(observer);
+        subscription.add(responseSubscription);
+
+        getVariableQueryRunner().queueRequest({ identifier, datasource, searchFilter });
+      });
     } catch (err) {
       const error = toDataQueryError(err);
       if (getState().templating.editor.id === variableInState.id) {
@@ -95,9 +77,9 @@ export const changeQueryVariableDataSource = (
   return async (dispatch, getState) => {
     try {
       const dataSource = await getDatasourceSrv().get(name ?? '');
-      const dsPlugin = await importDataSourcePlugin(dataSource.meta!);
-      const VariableQueryEditor = dsPlugin.components.VariableQueryEditor ?? DefaultVariableQueryEditor;
       dispatch(changeVariableEditorExtended({ propName: 'dataSource', propValue: dataSource }));
+
+      const VariableQueryEditor = await getVariableQueryEditor(dataSource);
       dispatch(changeVariableEditorExtended({ propName: 'VariableQueryEditor', propValue: VariableQueryEditor }));
     } catch (err) {
       console.error(err);
@@ -108,10 +90,10 @@ export const changeQueryVariableDataSource = (
 export const changeQueryVariableQuery = (
   identifier: VariableIdentifier,
   query: any,
-  definition: string
+  definition?: string
 ): ThunkResult<void> => async (dispatch, getState) => {
   const variableInState = getVariable<QueryVariableModel>(identifier.id, getState());
-  if (typeof query === 'string' && query.match(new RegExp('\\$' + variableInState.name + '(/| |$)'))) {
+  if (hasSelfReferencingQuery(variableInState.name, query)) {
     const errorText = 'Query cannot contain a reference to itself. Variable: $' + variableInState.name;
     dispatch(addVariableEditorError({ errorProp: 'query', errorText }));
     return;
@@ -119,18 +101,92 @@ export const changeQueryVariableQuery = (
 
   dispatch(removeVariableEditorError({ errorProp: 'query' }));
   dispatch(changeVariableProp(toVariablePayload(identifier, { propName: 'query', propValue: query })));
-  dispatch(changeVariableProp(toVariablePayload(identifier, { propName: 'definition', propValue: definition })));
+
+  if (definition) {
+    dispatch(changeVariableProp(toVariablePayload(identifier, { propName: 'definition', propValue: definition })));
+  } else if (typeof query === 'string') {
+    dispatch(changeVariableProp(toVariablePayload(identifier, { propName: 'definition', propValue: query })));
+  }
+
   await dispatch(updateOptions(identifier));
 };
 
-const getTemplatedRegex = (variable: QueryVariableModel): string => {
-  if (!variable) {
-    return '';
+export function hasSelfReferencingQuery(name: string, query: any): boolean {
+  if (typeof query === 'string' && query.match(new RegExp('\\$' + name + '(/| |$)'))) {
+    return true;
   }
 
-  if (!variable.regex) {
-    return '';
+  const flattened = flattenQuery(query);
+
+  for (let prop in flattened) {
+    if (flattened.hasOwnProperty(prop)) {
+      const value = flattened[prop];
+      if (typeof value === 'string' && value.match(new RegExp('\\$' + name + '(/| |$)'))) {
+        return true;
+      }
+    }
   }
 
-  return getTemplateSrv().replace(variable.regex, {}, 'regex');
-};
+  return false;
+}
+
+/*
+ * Function that takes any object and flattens all props into one level deep object
+ * */
+export function flattenQuery(query: any): any {
+  if (typeof query !== 'object') {
+    return { query };
+  }
+
+  const keys = Object.keys(query);
+  const flattened = keys.reduce((all, key) => {
+    const value = query[key];
+    if (typeof value !== 'object') {
+      all[key] = value;
+      return all;
+    }
+
+    const result = flattenQuery(value);
+    for (let childProp in result) {
+      if (result.hasOwnProperty(childProp)) {
+        all[`${key}_${childProp}`] = result[childProp];
+      }
+    }
+
+    return all;
+  }, {} as Record<string, any>);
+
+  return flattened;
+}
+
+export function upgradeLegacyQueries(identifier: VariableIdentifier, datasource: DataSourceApi): ThunkResult<void> {
+  return function(dispatch, getState) {
+    if (hasLegacyVariableSupport(datasource)) {
+      return;
+    }
+
+    if (!hasStandardVariableSupport(datasource)) {
+      return;
+    }
+
+    const variable = getVariable<QueryVariableModel>(identifier.id, getState());
+    if (isDataQuery(variable.query)) {
+      return;
+    }
+
+    const query = {
+      refId: `${datasource.name}-${identifier.id}-Variable-Query`,
+      query: variable.query,
+    };
+
+    dispatch(changeVariableProp(toVariablePayload(identifier, { propName: 'query', propValue: query })));
+  };
+}
+
+function isDataQuery(query: any): query is DataQuery {
+  if (!query) {
+    return false;
+  }
+
+  return query.hasOwnProperty('refId') && typeof query.refId === 'string';
+}
diff --git a/public/app/features/variables/query/operators.test.ts b/public/app/features/variables/query/operators.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..655a132de7f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/public/app/features/variables/query/operators.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,332 @@
+import { of } from 'rxjs';
+import { queryBuilder } from '../shared/testing/builders';
+import { FieldType, observableTester, toDataFrame } from '@grafana/data';
+import { initialQueryVariableModelState, updateVariableOptions, updateVariableTags } from './reducer';
+import { toVariablePayload } from '../state/types';
+import { VariableRefresh } from '../types';
+import {
+  areMetricFindValues,
+  runUpdateTagsRequest,
+  toMetricFindValues,
+  updateOptionsState,
+  updateTagsState,
+  validateVariableSelection,
+} from './operators';
+
+describe('operators', () => {
+  describe('validateVariableSelection', () => {
+    describe('when called', () => {
+      it('then the correct observable should be created', done => {
+        const variable = queryBuilder()
+          .withId('query')
+          .build();
+        const dispatch = jest.fn().mockResolvedValue({});
+        const observable = of(undefined).pipe(
+          validateVariableSelection({ variable, dispatch, searchFilter: 'A search filter' })
+        );
+
+        observableTester().subscribeAndExpectOnNext({
+          observable,
+          expect: value => {
+            expect(value).toEqual({});
+            expect(dispatch).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+          },
+          done,
+        });
+      });
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('updateTagsState', () => {
+    describe('when called with a variable that uses Tags', () => {
+      it('then the correct observable should be created', done => {
+        const variable = queryBuilder()
+          .withId('query')
+          .withTags(true)
+          .build();
+        const dispatch = jest.fn().mockResolvedValue({});
+        const observable = of([{ text: 'A text' }]).pipe(updateTagsState({ variable, dispatch }));
+
+        observableTester().subscribeAndExpectOnNext({
+          observable,
+          expect: value => {
+            expect(value).toEqual(undefined);
+            expect(dispatch).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+            expect(dispatch).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+              updateVariableTags(toVariablePayload(variable, [{ text: 'A text' }]))
+            );
+          },
+          done,
+        });
+      });
+    });
+
+    describe('when called with a variable that does not use Tags', () => {
+      it('then the correct observable should be created', done => {
+        const variable = queryBuilder()
+          .withId('query')
+          .withTags(false)
+          .build();
+        const dispatch = jest.fn().mockResolvedValue({});
+        const observable = of([{ text: 'A text' }]).pipe(updateTagsState({ variable, dispatch }));
+
+        observableTester().subscribeAndExpectOnNext({
+          observable,
+          expect: value => {
+            expect(value).toEqual(undefined);
+            expect(dispatch).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+          },
+          done,
+        });
+      });
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('runUpdateTagsRequest', () => {
+    describe('when called with a datasource with metricFindQuery and variable that uses Tags and refreshes on time range changes', () => {
+      it('then the correct observable should be created', done => {
+        const variable = queryBuilder()
+          .withId('query')
+          .withTags(true)
+          .withTagsQuery('A tags query')
+          .withRefresh(VariableRefresh.onTimeRangeChanged)
+          .build();
+        const timeSrv: any = {
+          timeRange: jest.fn(),
+        };
+        const datasource: any = { metricFindQuery: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue([{ text: 'A text' }]) };
+        const searchFilter = 'A search filter';
+        const observable = of(undefined).pipe(runUpdateTagsRequest({ variable, datasource, searchFilter }, timeSrv));
+
+        observableTester().subscribeAndExpectOnNext({
+          observable,
+          expect: value => {
+            const { index, global, ...rest } = initialQueryVariableModelState;
+            expect(value).toEqual([{ text: 'A text' }]);
+            expect(timeSrv.timeRange).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+            expect(datasource.metricFindQuery).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+            expect(datasource.metricFindQuery).toHaveBeenCalledWith('A tags query', {
+              range: undefined,
+              searchFilter: 'A search filter',
+              variable: {
+                ...rest,
+                id: 'query',
+                name: 'query',
+                useTags: true,
+                tagsQuery: 'A tags query',
+                refresh: VariableRefresh.onTimeRangeChanged,
+              },
+            });
+          },
+          done,
+        });
+      });
+    });
+
+    describe('when called with a datasource without metricFindQuery and variable that uses Tags and refreshes on time range changes', () => {
+      it('then the correct observable should be created', done => {
+        const variable = queryBuilder()
+          .withId('query')
+          .withTags(true)
+          .withTagsQuery('A tags query')
+          .withRefresh(VariableRefresh.onTimeRangeChanged)
+          .build();
+        const timeSrv: any = {
+          timeRange: jest.fn(),
+        };
+        const datasource: any = {};
+        const searchFilter = 'A search filter';
+        const observable = of(undefined).pipe(runUpdateTagsRequest({ variable, datasource, searchFilter }, timeSrv));
+
+        observableTester().subscribeAndExpectOnNext({
+          observable,
+          expect: value => {
+            expect(value).toEqual([]);
+            expect(timeSrv.timeRange).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+          },
+          done,
+        });
+      });
+    });
+
+    describe('when called with a datasource with metricFindQuery and variable that does not use Tags but refreshes on time range changes', () => {
+      it('then the correct observable should be created', done => {
+        const variable = queryBuilder()
+          .withId('query')
+          .withTags(false)
+          .withRefresh(VariableRefresh.onTimeRangeChanged)
+          .build();
+        const timeSrv: any = {
+          timeRange: jest.fn(),
+        };
+        const datasource: any = { metricFindQuery: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue([{ text: 'A text' }]) };
+        const searchFilter = 'A search filter';
+        const observable = of(undefined).pipe(runUpdateTagsRequest({ variable, datasource, searchFilter }, timeSrv));
+
+        observableTester().subscribeAndExpectOnNext({
+          observable,
+          expect: value => {
+            expect(value).toEqual([]);
+            expect(timeSrv.timeRange).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+            expect(datasource.metricFindQuery).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+          },
+          done,
+        });
+      });
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('updateOptionsState', () => {
+    describe('when called', () => {
+      it('then the correct observable should be created', done => {
+        const variable = queryBuilder()
+          .withId('query')
+          .build();
+        const dispatch = jest.fn();
+        const getTemplatedRegexFunc = jest.fn().mockReturnValue('getTemplatedRegexFunc result');
+
+        const observable = of([{ text: 'A' }]).pipe(updateOptionsState({ variable, dispatch, getTemplatedRegexFunc }));
+
+        observableTester().subscribeAndExpectOnNext({
+          observable,
+          expect: value => {
+            expect(value).toEqual(undefined);
+            expect(getTemplatedRegexFunc).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+            expect(dispatch).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+            expect(dispatch).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+              updateVariableOptions({
+                id: 'query',
+                type: 'query',
+                data: { results: [{ text: 'A' }], templatedRegex: 'getTemplatedRegexFunc result' },
+              })
+            );
+          },
+          done,
+        });
+      });
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('toMetricFindValues', () => {
+    const frameWithTextField = toDataFrame({
+      fields: [{ name: 'text', type: FieldType.string, values: ['A', 'B', 'C'] }],
+    });
+    const frameWithValueField = toDataFrame({
+      fields: [{ name: 'value', type: FieldType.string, values: ['A', 'B', 'C'] }],
+    });
+    const frameWithTextAndValueField = toDataFrame({
+      fields: [
+        { name: 'text', type: FieldType.string, values: ['TA', 'TB', 'TC'] },
+        { name: 'value', type: FieldType.string, values: ['VA', 'VB', 'VC'] },
+      ],
+    });
+    const frameWithAStringField = toDataFrame({
+      fields: [{ name: 'label', type: FieldType.string, values: ['A', 'B', 'C'] }],
+    });
+    const frameWithExpandableField = toDataFrame({
+      fields: [
+        { name: 'label', type: FieldType.string, values: ['A', 'B', 'C'] },
+        { name: 'expandable', type: FieldType.boolean, values: [true, false, true] },
+      ],
+    });
+
+    // it.each wouldn't work here as we need the done callback
+    [
+      { series: null, expected: [] },
+      { series: undefined, expected: [] },
+      { series: [], expected: [] },
+      { series: [{ text: '' }], expected: [{ text: '' }] },
+      { series: [{ value: '' }], expected: [{ value: '' }] },
+      {
+        series: [frameWithTextField],
+        expected: [
+          { text: 'A', value: 'A' },
+          { text: 'B', value: 'B' },
+          { text: 'C', value: 'C' },
+        ],
+      },
+      {
+        series: [frameWithValueField],
+        expected: [
+          { text: 'A', value: 'A' },
+          { text: 'B', value: 'B' },
+          { text: 'C', value: 'C' },
+        ],
+      },
+      {
+        series: [frameWithTextAndValueField],
+        expected: [
+          { text: 'TA', value: 'VA' },
+          { text: 'TB', value: 'VB' },
+          { text: 'TC', value: 'VC' },
+        ],
+      },
+      {
+        series: [frameWithAStringField],
+        expected: [
+          { text: 'A', value: 'A' },
+          { text: 'B', value: 'B' },
+          { text: 'C', value: 'C' },
+        ],
+      },
+      {
+        series: [frameWithExpandableField],
+        expected: [
+          { text: 'A', value: 'A', expandable: true },
+          { text: 'B', value: 'B', expandable: false },
+          { text: 'C', value: 'C', expandable: true },
+        ],
+      },
+    ].map(scenario => {
+      it(`when called with series:${JSON.stringify(scenario.series, null, 0)}`, done => {
+        const { series, expected } = scenario;
+        const panelData: any = { series };
+        const observable = of(panelData).pipe(toMetricFindValues());
+
+        observableTester().subscribeAndExpectOnNext({
+          observable,
+          expect: value => {
+            expect(value).toEqual(expected);
+          },
+          done,
+        });
+      });
+    });
+
+    describe('when called without metric find values and string fields', () => {
+      it('then the observable throws', done => {
+        const frameWithTimeField = toDataFrame({
+          fields: [{ name: 'time', type: FieldType.time, values: [1, 2, 3] }],
+        });
+
+        const panelData: any = { series: [frameWithTimeField] };
+        const observable = of(panelData).pipe(toMetricFindValues());
+
+        observableTester().subscribeAndExpectOnError({
+          observable,
+          expect: value => {
+            expect(value).toEqual(new Error("Couldn't find any field of type string in the results."));
+          },
+          done,
+        });
+      });
+    });
+  });
+});
+
+describe('areMetricFindValues', () => {
+  it.each`
+    values                       | expected
+    ${null}                      | ${false}
+    ${undefined}                 | ${false}
+    ${[]}                        | ${true}
+    ${[{ text: '' }]}            | ${true}
+    ${[{ Text: '' }]}            | ${true}
+    ${[{ value: '' }]}           | ${true}
+    ${[{ Value: '' }]}           | ${true}
+    ${[{ text: '', value: '' }]} | ${true}
+    ${[{ Text: '', Value: '' }]} | ${true}
+  `('when called with values:$values', ({ values, expected }) => {
+    expect(areMetricFindValues(values)).toBe(expected);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/public/app/features/variables/query/operators.ts b/public/app/features/variables/query/operators.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..057410408b8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/public/app/features/variables/query/operators.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,187 @@
+import { from, of, OperatorFunction } from 'rxjs';
+import { map, mergeMap } from 'rxjs/operators';
+
+import { QueryVariableModel } from '../types';
+import { ThunkDispatch } from '../../../types';
+import { toVariableIdentifier, toVariablePayload } from '../state/types';
+import { validateVariableSelectionState } from '../state/actions';
+import { DataSourceApi, FieldType, getFieldDisplayName, MetricFindValue, PanelData } from '@grafana/data';
+import { updateVariableOptions, updateVariableTags } from './reducer';
+import { getTimeSrv, TimeSrv } from '../../dashboard/services/TimeSrv';
+import { getLegacyQueryOptions, getTemplatedRegex } from '../utils';
+
+const metricFindValueProps = ['text', 'Text', 'value', 'Value'];
+
+export function toMetricFindValues(): OperatorFunction<PanelData, MetricFindValue[]> {
+  return source =>
+    source.pipe(
+      map(panelData => {
+        const frames = panelData.series;
+        if (!frames || !frames.length) {
+          return [];
+        }
+
+        if (areMetricFindValues(frames)) {
+          return frames;
+        }
+
+        const metrics: MetricFindValue[] = [];
+
+        let valueIndex = -1;
+        let textIndex = -1;
+        let stringIndex = -1;
+        let expandableIndex = -1;
+
+        for (const frame of frames) {
+          for (let index = 0; index < frame.fields.length; index++) {
+            const field = frame.fields[index];
+            const fieldName = getFieldDisplayName(field, frame, frames).toLowerCase();
+
+            if (field.type === FieldType.string && stringIndex === -1) {
+              stringIndex = index;
+            }
+
+            if (fieldName === 'text' && field.type === FieldType.string && textIndex === -1) {
+              textIndex = index;
+            }
+
+            if (fieldName === 'value' && field.type === FieldType.string && valueIndex === -1) {
+              valueIndex = index;
+            }
+
+            if (
+              fieldName === 'expandable' &&
+              (field.type === FieldType.boolean || field.type === FieldType.number) &&
+              expandableIndex === -1
+            ) {
+              expandableIndex = index;
+            }
+          }
+        }
+
+        if (stringIndex === -1) {
+          throw new Error("Couldn't find any field of type string in the results.");
+        }
+
+        for (const frame of frames) {
+          for (let index = 0; index < frame.length; index++) {
+            const expandable = expandableIndex !== -1 ? frame.fields[expandableIndex].values.get(index) : undefined;
+            const string = frame.fields[stringIndex].values.get(index);
+            const text = textIndex !== -1 ? frame.fields[textIndex].values.get(index) : null;
+            const value = valueIndex !== -1 ? frame.fields[valueIndex].values.get(index) : null;
+
+            if (valueIndex === -1 && textIndex === -1) {
+              metrics.push({ text: string, value: string, expandable });
+              continue;
+            }
+
+            if (valueIndex === -1 && textIndex !== -1) {
+              metrics.push({ text, value: text, expandable });
+              continue;
+            }
+
+            if (valueIndex !== -1 && textIndex === -1) {
+              metrics.push({ text: value, value, expandable });
+              continue;
+            }
+
+            metrics.push({ text, value, expandable });
+          }
+        }
+
+        return metrics;
+      })
+    );
+}
+
+export function updateOptionsState(args: {
+  variable: QueryVariableModel;
+  dispatch: ThunkDispatch;
+  getTemplatedRegexFunc: typeof getTemplatedRegex;
+}): OperatorFunction<MetricFindValue[], void> {
+  return source =>
+    source.pipe(
+      map(results => {
+        const { variable, dispatch, getTemplatedRegexFunc } = args;
+        const templatedRegex = getTemplatedRegexFunc(variable);
+        const payload = toVariablePayload(variable, { results, templatedRegex });
+        dispatch(updateVariableOptions(payload));
+      })
+    );
+}
+
+export function runUpdateTagsRequest(
+  args: {
+    variable: QueryVariableModel;
+    datasource: DataSourceApi;
+    searchFilter?: string;
+  },
+  timeSrv: TimeSrv = getTimeSrv()
+): OperatorFunction<void, MetricFindValue[]> {
+  return source =>
+    source.pipe(
+      mergeMap(() => {
+        const { datasource, searchFilter, variable } = args;
+
+        if (variable.useTags && datasource.metricFindQuery) {
+          return from(
+            datasource.metricFindQuery(variable.tagsQuery, getLegacyQueryOptions(variable, searchFilter, timeSrv))
+          );
+        }
+
+        return of([]);
+      })
+    );
+}
+
+export function updateTagsState(args: {
+  variable: QueryVariableModel;
+  dispatch: ThunkDispatch;
+}): OperatorFunction<MetricFindValue[], void> {
+  return source =>
+    source.pipe(
+      map(tagResults => {
+        const { dispatch, variable } = args;
+
+        if (variable.useTags) {
+          dispatch(updateVariableTags(toVariablePayload(variable, tagResults)));
+        }
+      })
+    );
+}
+
+export function validateVariableSelection(args: {
+  variable: QueryVariableModel;
+  dispatch: ThunkDispatch;
+  searchFilter?: string;
+}): OperatorFunction<void, void> {
+  return source =>
+    source.pipe(
+      mergeMap(() => {
+        const { dispatch, variable, searchFilter } = args;
+
+        // If we are searching options there is no need to validate selection state
+        // This condition was added to as validateVariableSelectionState will update the current value of the variable
+        // So after search and selection the current value is already update so no setValue, refresh & url update is performed
+        // The if statement below fixes https://github.com/grafana/grafana/issues/25671
+        if (!searchFilter) {
+          return from(dispatch(validateVariableSelectionState(toVariableIdentifier(variable))));
+        }
+
+        return of<void>();
+      })
+    );
+}
+
+export function areMetricFindValues(data: any[]): data is MetricFindValue[] {
+  if (!data) {
+    return false;
+  }
+
+  if (!data.length) {
+    return true;
+  }
+
+  const firstValue: any = data[0];
+  return metricFindValueProps.some(prop => firstValue.hasOwnProperty(prop) && typeof firstValue[prop] === 'string');
+}
diff --git a/public/app/features/variables/query/queryRunners.test.ts b/public/app/features/variables/query/queryRunners.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..53d788aa9f8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/public/app/features/variables/query/queryRunners.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,316 @@
+import { QueryRunners } from './queryRunners';
+import { DefaultTimeRange, observableTester, VariableSupportType } from '@grafana/data';
+import { VariableRefresh } from '../types';
+import { of } from 'rxjs';
+
+describe('QueryRunners', () => {
+  describe('when using a legacy data source', () => {
+    const getLegacyTestContext = (variable?: any) => {
+      variable = variable ?? { query: 'A query' };
+      const timeSrv = {
+        timeRange: jest.fn().mockReturnValue(DefaultTimeRange),
+      };
+      const datasource: any = { metricFindQuery: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue([{ text: 'A', value: 'A' }]) };
+      const runner = new QueryRunners().getRunnerForDatasource(datasource);
+      const runRequest = jest.fn().mockReturnValue(of({}));
+      const runnerArgs: any = { datasource, variable, searchFilter: 'A searchFilter', timeSrv, runRequest };
+      const request: any = {};
+
+      return { timeSrv, datasource, runner, variable, runnerArgs, request };
+    };
+
+    describe('and calling getRunnerForDatasource', () => {
+      it('then it should return LegacyQueryRunner', () => {
+        const { runner } = getLegacyTestContext();
+        expect(runner!.type).toEqual(VariableSupportType.Legacy);
+      });
+    });
+
+    describe('and calling getTarget', () => {
+      it('then it should return correct target', () => {
+        const { runner, datasource, variable } = getLegacyTestContext();
+        const target = runner.getTarget({ datasource, variable });
+        expect(target).toEqual('A query');
+      });
+    });
+
+    describe('and calling runRequest with a variable that refreshes when time range changes', () => {
+      const { datasource, runner, runnerArgs, request, timeSrv } = getLegacyTestContext({
+        query: 'A query',
+        refresh: VariableRefresh.onTimeRangeChanged,
+      });
+      const observable = runner.runRequest(runnerArgs, request);
+
+      it('then it should return correct observable', done => {
+        observableTester().subscribeAndExpectOnNext({
+          observable,
+          expect: values => {
+            expect(values).toEqual({
+              series: [{ text: 'A', value: 'A' }],
+              state: 'Done',
+              timeRange: { from: {}, raw: { from: '6h', to: 'now' }, to: {} },
+            });
+          },
+          done,
+        });
+      });
+
+      it('and it should call timeSrv.timeRange()', () => {
+        expect(timeSrv.timeRange).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+      });
+
+      it('and it should call metricFindQuery with correct options', () => {
+        expect(datasource.metricFindQuery).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+        expect(datasource.metricFindQuery).toHaveBeenCalledWith('A query', {
+          range: {
+            from: {},
+            raw: {
+              from: '6h',
+              to: 'now',
+            },
+            to: {},
+          },
+          searchFilter: 'A searchFilter',
+          variable: {
+            query: 'A query',
+            refresh: VariableRefresh.onTimeRangeChanged,
+          },
+        });
+      });
+    });
+
+    describe('and calling runRequest with a variable that does not refresh when time range changes', () => {
+      const { datasource, runner, runnerArgs, request, timeSrv } = getLegacyTestContext({
+        query: 'A query',
+        refresh: VariableRefresh.never,
+      });
+      const observable = runner.runRequest(runnerArgs, request);
+
+      it('then it should return correct observable', done => {
+        observableTester().subscribeAndExpectOnNext({
+          observable,
+          expect: values => {
+            expect(values).toEqual({
+              series: [{ text: 'A', value: 'A' }],
+              state: 'Done',
+              timeRange: { from: {}, raw: { from: '6h', to: 'now' }, to: {} },
+            });
+          },
+          done,
+        });
+      });
+
+      it('and it should not call timeSrv.timeRange()', () => {
+        expect(timeSrv.timeRange).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+      });
+
+      it('and it should call metricFindQuery with correct options', () => {
+        expect(datasource.metricFindQuery).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+        expect(datasource.metricFindQuery).toHaveBeenCalledWith('A query', {
+          range: undefined,
+          searchFilter: 'A searchFilter',
+          variable: {
+            query: 'A query',
+            refresh: VariableRefresh.never,
+          },
+        });
+      });
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('when using a data source with standard variable support', () => {
+    const getStandardTestContext = (datasource?: any) => {
+      const variable: any = { query: { refId: 'A', query: 'A query' } };
+      const timeSrv = {};
+      datasource = datasource ?? {
+        variables: {
+          getType: () => VariableSupportType.Standard,
+          toDataQuery: (query: any) => ({ ...query, extra: 'extra' }),
+        },
+      };
+      const runner = new QueryRunners().getRunnerForDatasource(datasource);
+      const runRequest = jest.fn().mockReturnValue(of({}));
+      const runnerArgs: any = { datasource, variable, searchFilter: 'A searchFilter', timeSrv, runRequest };
+      const request: any = {};
+
+      return { timeSrv, datasource, runner, variable, runnerArgs, request, runRequest };
+    };
+
+    describe('and calling getRunnerForDatasource', () => {
+      it('then it should return StandardQueryRunner', () => {
+        const { runner } = getStandardTestContext();
+        expect(runner!.type).toEqual(VariableSupportType.Standard);
+      });
+    });
+
+    describe('and calling getTarget', () => {
+      it('then it should return correct target', () => {
+        const { runner, variable, datasource } = getStandardTestContext();
+        const target = runner.getTarget({ datasource, variable });
+        expect(target).toEqual({ refId: 'A', query: 'A query', extra: 'extra' });
+      });
+    });
+
+    describe('and calling runRequest with a datasource that uses a custom query', () => {
+      const { runner, request, runnerArgs, runRequest, datasource } = getStandardTestContext({
+        variables: {
+          getType: () => VariableSupportType.Standard,
+          toDataQuery: () => undefined,
+          query: () => undefined,
+        },
+      });
+      const observable = runner.runRequest(runnerArgs, request);
+
+      it('then it should return correct observable', done => {
+        observableTester().subscribeAndExpectOnNext({
+          observable,
+          expect: value => {
+            expect(value).toEqual({});
+          },
+          done,
+        });
+      });
+
+      it('then it should call runRequest with correct args', () => {
+        expect(runRequest).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+        expect(runRequest).toHaveBeenCalledWith(datasource, {}, datasource.variables.query);
+      });
+    });
+
+    describe('and calling runRequest with a datasource that has no custom query', () => {
+      const { runner, request, runnerArgs, runRequest, datasource } = getStandardTestContext({
+        variables: { getType: () => VariableSupportType.Standard, toDataQuery: () => undefined },
+      });
+      const observable = runner.runRequest(runnerArgs, request);
+
+      it('then it should return correct observable', done => {
+        observableTester().subscribeAndExpectOnNext({
+          observable,
+          expect: value => {
+            expect(value).toEqual({});
+          },
+          done,
+        });
+      });
+
+      it('then it should call runRequest with correct args', () => {
+        expect(runRequest).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+        expect(runRequest).toHaveBeenCalledWith(datasource, {});
+      });
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('when using a data source with custom variable support', () => {
+    const getCustomTestContext = () => {
+      const variable: any = { query: { refId: 'A', query: 'A query' } };
+      const timeSrv = {};
+      const datasource: any = {
+        variables: { getType: () => VariableSupportType.Custom, query: () => undefined, editor: {} },
+      };
+      const runner = new QueryRunners().getRunnerForDatasource(datasource);
+      const runRequest = jest.fn().mockReturnValue(of({}));
+      const runnerArgs: any = { datasource, variable, searchFilter: 'A searchFilter', timeSrv, runRequest };
+      const request: any = {};
+
+      return { timeSrv, datasource, runner, variable, runnerArgs, request, runRequest };
+    };
+
+    describe('and calling getRunnerForDatasource', () => {
+      it('then it should return CustomQueryRunner', () => {
+        const { runner } = getCustomTestContext();
+        expect(runner!.type).toEqual(VariableSupportType.Custom);
+      });
+    });
+
+    describe('and calling getTarget', () => {
+      it('then it should return correct target', () => {
+        const { runner, variable, datasource } = getCustomTestContext();
+        const target = runner.getTarget({ datasource, variable });
+        expect(target).toEqual({ refId: 'A', query: 'A query' });
+      });
+    });
+
+    describe('and calling runRequest', () => {
+      const { runner, request, runnerArgs, runRequest, datasource } = getCustomTestContext();
+      const observable = runner.runRequest(runnerArgs, request);
+
+      it('then it should return correct observable', done => {
+        observableTester().subscribeAndExpectOnNext({
+          observable,
+          expect: value => {
+            expect(value).toEqual({});
+          },
+          done,
+        });
+      });
+
+      it('then it should call runRequest with correct args', () => {
+        expect(runRequest).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+        expect(runRequest).toHaveBeenCalledWith(datasource, {}, datasource.variables.query);
+      });
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('when using a data source with datasource variable support', () => {
+    const getDatasourceTestContext = () => {
+      const variable: any = { query: { refId: 'A', query: 'A query' } };
+      const timeSrv = {};
+      const datasource: any = {
+        variables: { getType: () => VariableSupportType.Datasource },
+      };
+      const runner = new QueryRunners().getRunnerForDatasource(datasource);
+      const runRequest = jest.fn().mockReturnValue(of({}));
+      const runnerArgs: any = { datasource, variable, searchFilter: 'A searchFilter', timeSrv, runRequest };
+      const request: any = {};
+
+      return { timeSrv, datasource, runner, variable, runnerArgs, request, runRequest };
+    };
+
+    describe('and calling getRunnerForDatasource', () => {
+      it('then it should return DatasourceQueryRunner', () => {
+        const { runner } = getDatasourceTestContext();
+        expect(runner!.type).toEqual(VariableSupportType.Datasource);
+      });
+    });
+
+    describe('and calling getTarget', () => {
+      it('then it should return correct target', () => {
+        const { runner, datasource, variable } = getDatasourceTestContext();
+        const target = runner.getTarget({ datasource, variable });
+        expect(target).toEqual({ refId: 'A', query: 'A query' });
+      });
+    });
+
+    describe('and calling runRequest', () => {
+      const { runner, request, runnerArgs, runRequest, datasource } = getDatasourceTestContext();
+      const observable = runner.runRequest(runnerArgs, request);
+
+      it('then it should return correct observable', done => {
+        observableTester().subscribeAndExpectOnNext({
+          observable,
+          expect: value => {
+            expect(value).toEqual({});
+          },
+          done,
+        });
+      });
+
+      it('then it should call runRequest with correct args', () => {
+        expect(runRequest).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+        expect(runRequest).toHaveBeenCalledWith(datasource, {});
+      });
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('when using a data source with unknown variable support', () => {
+    describe('and calling getRunnerForDatasource', () => {
+      it('then it should throw', () => {
+        const datasource: any = {
+          variables: {},
+        };
+
+        expect(() => new QueryRunners().getRunnerForDatasource(datasource)).toThrow();
+      });
+    });
+  });
+});
diff --git a/public/app/features/variables/query/queryRunners.ts b/public/app/features/variables/query/queryRunners.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..7f37af6511a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/public/app/features/variables/query/queryRunners.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,178 @@
+import { from, Observable, of } from 'rxjs';
+import { mergeMap } from 'rxjs/operators';
+import {
+  DataQuery,
+  DataQueryRequest,
+  DataSourceApi,
+  DefaultTimeRange,
+  LoadingState,
+  PanelData,
+  VariableSupportType,
+} from '@grafana/data';
+
+import { QueryVariableModel } from '../types';
+import {
+  hasCustomVariableSupport,
+  hasDatasourceVariableSupport,
+  hasLegacyVariableSupport,
+  hasStandardVariableSupport,
+} from '../guard';
+import { getLegacyQueryOptions } from '../utils';
+import { TimeSrv } from '../../dashboard/services/TimeSrv';
+
+export interface RunnerArgs {
+  variable: QueryVariableModel;
+  datasource: DataSourceApi;
+  timeSrv: TimeSrv;
+  runRequest: (
+    datasource: DataSourceApi,
+    request: DataQueryRequest,
+    queryFunction?: typeof datasource.query
+  ) => Observable<PanelData>;
+  searchFilter?: string;
+}
+
+type GetTargetArgs = { datasource: DataSourceApi; variable: QueryVariableModel };
+
+export interface QueryRunner {
+  type: VariableSupportType;
+  canRun: (dataSource: DataSourceApi) => boolean;
+  getTarget: (args: GetTargetArgs) => DataQuery;
+  runRequest: (args: RunnerArgs, request: DataQueryRequest) => Observable<PanelData>;
+}
+
+export class QueryRunners {
+  private readonly runners: QueryRunner[];
+  constructor() {
+    this.runners = [
+      new LegacyQueryRunner(),
+      new StandardQueryRunner(),
+      new CustomQueryRunner(),
+      new DatasourceQueryRunner(),
+    ];
+  }
+
+  getRunnerForDatasource(datasource: DataSourceApi): QueryRunner {
+    const runner = this.runners.find(runner => runner.canRun(datasource));
+    if (runner) {
+      return runner;
+    }
+
+    throw new Error("Couldn't find a query runner that matches supplied arguments.");
+  }
+}
+
+class LegacyQueryRunner implements QueryRunner {
+  type = VariableSupportType.Legacy;
+
+  canRun(dataSource: DataSourceApi) {
+    return hasLegacyVariableSupport(dataSource);
+  }
+
+  getTarget({ datasource, variable }: GetTargetArgs) {
+    if (hasLegacyVariableSupport(datasource)) {
+      return variable.query;
+    }
+
+    throw new Error("Couldn't create a target with supplied arguments.");
+  }
+
+  runRequest({ datasource, variable, searchFilter, timeSrv }: RunnerArgs, request: DataQueryRequest) {
+    if (!hasLegacyVariableSupport(datasource)) {
+      return getEmptyMetricFindValueObservable();
+    }
+
+    const queryOptions: any = getLegacyQueryOptions(variable, searchFilter, timeSrv);
+
+    return from(datasource.metricFindQuery(variable.query, queryOptions)).pipe(
+      mergeMap(values => {
+        if (!values || !values.length) {
+          return getEmptyMetricFindValueObservable();
+        }
+
+        const series: any = values;
+        return of({ series, state: LoadingState.Done, timeRange: DefaultTimeRange });
+      })
+    );
+  }
+}
+
+class StandardQueryRunner implements QueryRunner {
+  type = VariableSupportType.Standard;
+
+  canRun(dataSource: DataSourceApi) {
+    return hasStandardVariableSupport(dataSource);
+  }
+
+  getTarget({ datasource, variable }: GetTargetArgs) {
+    if (hasStandardVariableSupport(datasource)) {
+      return datasource.variables.toDataQuery(variable.query);
+    }
+
+    throw new Error("Couldn't create a target with supplied arguments.");
+  }
+
+  runRequest({ datasource, runRequest }: RunnerArgs, request: DataQueryRequest) {
+    if (!hasStandardVariableSupport(datasource)) {
+      return getEmptyMetricFindValueObservable();
+    }
+
+    if (!datasource.variables.query) {
+      return runRequest(datasource, request);
+    }
+
+    return runRequest(datasource, request, datasource.variables.query);
+  }
+}
+
+class CustomQueryRunner implements QueryRunner {
+  type = VariableSupportType.Custom;
+
+  canRun(dataSource: DataSourceApi) {
+    return hasCustomVariableSupport(dataSource);
+  }
+
+  getTarget({ datasource, variable }: GetTargetArgs) {
+    if (hasCustomVariableSupport(datasource)) {
+      return variable.query;
+    }
+
+    throw new Error("Couldn't create a target with supplied arguments.");
+  }
+
+  runRequest({ datasource, runRequest }: RunnerArgs, request: DataQueryRequest) {
+    if (!hasCustomVariableSupport(datasource)) {
+      return getEmptyMetricFindValueObservable();
+    }
+
+    return runRequest(datasource, request, datasource.variables.query);
+  }
+}
+
+class DatasourceQueryRunner implements QueryRunner {
+  type = VariableSupportType.Datasource;
+
+  canRun(dataSource: DataSourceApi) {
+    return hasDatasourceVariableSupport(dataSource);
+  }
+
+  getTarget({ datasource, variable }: GetTargetArgs) {
+    if (hasDatasourceVariableSupport(datasource)) {
+      return variable.query;
+    }
+
+    throw new Error("Couldn't create a target with supplied arguments.");
+  }
+
+  runRequest({ datasource, runRequest }: RunnerArgs, request: DataQueryRequest) {
+    if (!hasDatasourceVariableSupport(datasource)) {
+      return getEmptyMetricFindValueObservable();
+    }
+
+    return runRequest(datasource, request);
+  }
+}
+
+function getEmptyMetricFindValueObservable(): Observable<PanelData> {
+  return of({ state: LoadingState.Done, series: [], timeRange: DefaultTimeRange });
+}
diff --git a/public/app/features/variables/query/reducer.ts b/public/app/features/variables/query/reducer.ts
index d49120b6064..c1b36375ccb 100644
--- a/public/app/features/variables/query/reducer.ts
+++ b/public/app/features/variables/query/reducer.ts
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import {
   initialVariableModelState,
   QueryVariableModel,
   VariableOption,
+  VariableQueryEditorType,
   VariableRefresh,
   VariableSort,
   VariableTag,
@@ -19,8 +20,6 @@ import {
   NONE_VARIABLE_VALUE,
   VariablePayload,
 } from '../state/types';
-import { ComponentType } from 'react';
-import { VariableQueryProps } from '../../../types';
 import { initialVariablesState, VariablesState } from '../state/variablesReducer';
 
 interface VariableOptionsUpdate {
@@ -29,7 +28,7 @@ interface VariableOptionsUpdate {
 }
 
 export interface QueryVariableEditorState {
-  VariableQueryEditor: ComponentType<VariableQueryProps> | null;
+  VariableQueryEditor: VariableQueryEditorType;
   dataSources: DataSourceSelectItem[];
   dataSource: DataSourceApi | null;
 }
diff --git a/public/app/features/variables/query/variableQueryObserver.test.ts b/public/app/features/variables/query/variableQueryObserver.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..7b2e41fc8c8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/public/app/features/variables/query/variableQueryObserver.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,90 @@
+import { variableQueryObserver } from './variableQueryObserver';
+import { LoadingState } from '@grafana/data';
+import { VariableIdentifier } from '../state/types';
+import { UpdateOptionsResults } from './VariableQueryRunner';
+
+function getTestContext(args: { next?: UpdateOptionsResults; error?: any; complete?: boolean }) {
+  const { next, error, complete } = args;
+  const resolve = jest.fn();
+  const reject = jest.fn();
+  const subscription: any = {
+    unsubscribe: jest.fn(),
+  };
+  const observer = variableQueryObserver(resolve, reject, subscription);
+
+  if (next) {
+    observer.next(next);
+  }
+
+  if (error) {
+    observer.error(error);
+  }
+
+  if (complete) {
+    observer.complete();
+  }
+
+  return { resolve, reject, subscription, observer };
+}
+
+const identifier: VariableIdentifier = { id: 'id', type: 'query' };
+
+describe('variableQueryObserver', () => {
+  describe('when receiving a Done state', () => {
+    it('then it should call unsubscribe', () => {
+      const { subscription } = getTestContext({ next: { state: LoadingState.Done, identifier } });
+
+      expect(subscription.unsubscribe).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    });
+
+    it('then it should call resolve', () => {
+      const { resolve } = getTestContext({ next: { state: LoadingState.Done, identifier } });
+
+      expect(resolve).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('when receiving an Error state', () => {
+    it('then it should call unsubscribe', () => {
+      const { subscription } = getTestContext({ next: { state: LoadingState.Error, identifier, error: 'An error' } });
+
+      expect(subscription.unsubscribe).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    });
+
+    it('then it should call reject', () => {
+      const { reject } = getTestContext({ next: { state: LoadingState.Error, identifier, error: 'An error' } });
+
+      expect(reject).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+      expect(reject).toHaveBeenCalledWith('An error');
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('when receiving an error', () => {
+    it('then it should call unsubscribe', () => {
+      const { subscription } = getTestContext({ error: 'An error' });
+
+      expect(subscription.unsubscribe).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    });
+
+    it('then it should call reject', () => {
+      const { reject } = getTestContext({ error: 'An error' });
+
+      expect(reject).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+      expect(reject).toHaveBeenCalledWith('An error');
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('when receiving complete', () => {
+    it('then it should call unsubscribe', () => {
+      const { subscription } = getTestContext({ complete: true });
+
+      expect(subscription.unsubscribe).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    });
+
+    it('then it should call resolve', () => {
+      const { resolve } = getTestContext({ complete: true });
+
+      expect(resolve).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    });
+  });
+});
diff --git a/public/app/features/variables/query/variableQueryObserver.ts b/public/app/features/variables/query/variableQueryObserver.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..950c00e11ee
--- /dev/null
+++ b/public/app/features/variables/query/variableQueryObserver.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+import { Observer, Subscription } from 'rxjs';
+import { LoadingState } from '@grafana/data';
+
+import { UpdateOptionsResults } from './VariableQueryRunner';
+
+export function variableQueryObserver(
+  resolve: (value?: any) => void,
+  reject: (value?: any) => void,
+  subscription: Subscription
+): Observer<UpdateOptionsResults> {
+  const observer: Observer<UpdateOptionsResults> = {
+    next: results => {
+      if (results.state === LoadingState.Error) {
+        subscription.unsubscribe();
+        reject(results.error);
+        return;
+      }
+
+      if (results.state === LoadingState.Done) {
+        subscription.unsubscribe();
+        resolve();
+        return;
+      }
+    },
+    error: err => {
+      subscription.unsubscribe();
+      reject(err);
+    },
+    complete: () => {
+      subscription.unsubscribe();
+      resolve();
+    },
+  };
+
+  return observer;
+}
diff --git a/public/app/features/variables/shared/testing/builders.ts b/public/app/features/variables/shared/testing/builders.ts
index 492e04049d4..3a5e813ef56 100644
--- a/public/app/features/variables/shared/testing/builders.ts
+++ b/public/app/features/variables/shared/testing/builders.ts
@@ -10,11 +10,12 @@ import { initialTextBoxVariableModelState } from '../../textbox/reducer';
 import { initialCustomVariableModelState } from '../../custom/reducer';
 import { MultiVariableBuilder } from './multiVariableBuilder';
 import { initialConstantVariableModelState } from '../../constant/reducer';
+import { QueryVariableBuilder } from './queryVariableBuilder';
 
 export const adHocBuilder = () => new AdHocVariableBuilder(initialAdHocVariableModelState);
 export const intervalBuilder = () => new IntervalVariableBuilder(initialIntervalVariableModelState);
 export const datasourceBuilder = () => new DatasourceVariableBuilder(initialDataSourceVariableModelState);
-export const queryBuilder = () => new DatasourceVariableBuilder(initialQueryVariableModelState);
+export const queryBuilder = () => new QueryVariableBuilder(initialQueryVariableModelState);
 export const textboxBuilder = () => new OptionsVariableBuilder(initialTextBoxVariableModelState);
 export const customBuilder = () => new MultiVariableBuilder(initialCustomVariableModelState);
 export const constantBuilder = () => new OptionsVariableBuilder(initialConstantVariableModelState);
diff --git a/public/app/features/variables/shared/testing/queryVariableBuilder.ts b/public/app/features/variables/shared/testing/queryVariableBuilder.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..728e0a427c6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/public/app/features/variables/shared/testing/queryVariableBuilder.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+import { QueryVariableModel } from 'app/features/variables/types';
+import { DatasourceVariableBuilder } from './datasourceVariableBuilder';
+
+export class QueryVariableBuilder<T extends QueryVariableModel> extends DatasourceVariableBuilder<T> {
+  withTags(useTags: boolean) {
+    this.variable.useTags = useTags;
+    return this;
+  }
+
+  withTagsQuery(tagsQuery: string) {
+    this.variable.tagsQuery = tagsQuery;
+    return this;
+  }
+}
diff --git a/public/app/features/variables/state/actions.test.ts b/public/app/features/variables/state/actions.test.ts
index a4c7ddc91e2..159a7362896 100644
--- a/public/app/features/variables/state/actions.test.ts
+++ b/public/app/features/variables/state/actions.test.ts
@@ -60,6 +60,7 @@ import { cleanVariables } from './variablesReducer';
 import { expect } from '../../../../test/lib/common';
 import { VariableRefresh } from '../types';
 import { updateVariableOptions } from '../query/reducer';
+import { setVariableQueryRunner, VariableQueryRunner } from '../query/VariableQueryRunner';
 
 variableAdapters.setInit(() => [
   createQueryVariableAdapter(),
@@ -178,6 +179,7 @@ describe('shared actions', () => {
 
     // Fix for https://github.com/grafana/grafana/issues/28791
     it('fix for https://github.com/grafana/grafana/issues/28791', async () => {
+      setVariableQueryRunner(new VariableQueryRunner());
       const stats = queryBuilder()
         .withId('stats')
         .withName('stats')
diff --git a/public/app/features/variables/state/processVariable.test.ts b/public/app/features/variables/state/processVariable.test.ts
index 572ab71afa9..7670a5fcc6f 100644
--- a/public/app/features/variables/state/processVariable.test.ts
+++ b/public/app/features/variables/state/processVariable.test.ts
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ import { VariableRefresh } from '../types';
 import { updateVariableOptions } from '../query/reducer';
 import { customBuilder, queryBuilder } from '../shared/testing/builders';
 import { variablesInitTransaction } from './transactionReducer';
+import { setVariableQueryRunner, VariableQueryRunner } from '../query/VariableQueryRunner';
 
 jest.mock('app/features/dashboard/services/TimeSrv', () => ({
   getTimeSrv: jest.fn().mockReturnValue({
@@ -94,6 +95,7 @@ describe('processVariable', () => {
       .build();
 
     const list = [custom, queryDependsOnCustom, queryNoDepends];
+    setVariableQueryRunner(new VariableQueryRunner());
 
     return {
       custom,
diff --git a/public/app/features/variables/types.ts b/public/app/features/variables/types.ts
index ef5185e2475..79cd708c5c8 100644
--- a/public/app/features/variables/types.ts
+++ b/public/app/features/variables/types.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,15 @@
-import { LoadingState, VariableModel as BaseVariableModel, VariableType } from '@grafana/data';
+import { ComponentType } from 'react';
+import {
+  DataQuery,
+  DataSourceJsonData,
+  LoadingState,
+  QueryEditorProps,
+  VariableModel as BaseVariableModel,
+  VariableType,
+} from '@grafana/data';
+
 import { NEW_VARIABLE_ID } from './state/types';
+import { VariableQueryProps } from '../../types';
 
 export enum VariableRefresh {
   never,
@@ -73,6 +83,7 @@ export interface QueryVariableModel extends DataSourceVariableModel {
   tagValuesQuery: string;
   useTags: boolean;
   queryValue?: string;
+  query: any;
 }
 
 export interface TextBoxVariableModel extends VariableWithOptions {}
@@ -142,3 +153,8 @@ export const initialVariableModelState: VariableModel = {
   state: LoadingState.NotStarted,
   error: null,
 };
+
+export type VariableQueryEditorType<
+  TQuery extends DataQuery = DataQuery,
+  TOptions extends DataSourceJsonData = DataSourceJsonData
+> = ComponentType<VariableQueryProps> | ComponentType<QueryEditorProps<any, TQuery, TOptions, any>> | null;
diff --git a/public/app/features/variables/utils.ts b/public/app/features/variables/utils.ts
index c731224b2dd..b17c74d8c03 100644
--- a/public/app/features/variables/utils.ts
+++ b/public/app/features/variables/utils.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,10 @@
 import isString from 'lodash/isString';
 import { ScopedVars } from '@grafana/data';
+import { getTemplateSrv } from '@grafana/runtime';
+
 import { ALL_VARIABLE_TEXT } from './state/types';
 import { QueryVariableModel, VariableModel, VariableRefresh } from './types';
+import { getTimeSrv } from '../dashboard/services/TimeSrv';
 
 /*
  * This regex matches 3 types of variable reference with an optional format specifier
@@ -105,6 +108,27 @@ export const getCurrentText = (variable: any): string => {
   return variable.current.text;
 };
 
+export function getTemplatedRegex(variable: QueryVariableModel, templateSrv = getTemplateSrv()): string {
+  if (!variable) {
+    return '';
+  }
+
+  if (!variable.regex) {
+    return '';
+  }
+
+  return templateSrv.replace(variable.regex, {}, 'regex');
+}
+
+export function getLegacyQueryOptions(variable: QueryVariableModel, searchFilter?: string, timeSrv = getTimeSrv()) {
+  const queryOptions: any = { range: undefined, variable, searchFilter };
+  if (variable.refresh === VariableRefresh.onTimeRangeChanged) {
+    queryOptions.range = timeSrv.timeRange();
+  }
+
+  return queryOptions;
+}
+
 export function getVariableRefresh(variable: VariableModel): VariableRefresh {
   if (!variable || !variable.hasOwnProperty('refresh')) {
     return VariableRefresh.never;
diff --git a/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloud-monitoring/CloudMonitoringMetricFindQuery.ts b/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloud-monitoring/CloudMonitoringMetricFindQuery.ts
index c4945184772..b6d440c0be8 100644
--- a/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloud-monitoring/CloudMonitoringMetricFindQuery.ts
+++ b/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloud-monitoring/CloudMonitoringMetricFindQuery.ts
@@ -1,20 +1,20 @@
 import isString from 'lodash/isString';
-import { alignmentPeriods, ValueTypes, MetricKind, selectors } from './constants';
+import { alignmentPeriods, MetricKind, selectors, ValueTypes } from './constants';
 import CloudMonitoringDatasource from './datasource';
-import { MetricFindQueryTypes, VariableQueryData } from './types';
+import { CloudMonitoringVariableQuery, MetricFindQueryTypes } from './types';
 import { SelectableValue } from '@grafana/data';
 import {
-  getMetricTypesByService,
-  getAlignmentOptionsByMetric,
-  getAggregationOptionsByMetric,
   extractServicesFromMetricDescriptors,
+  getAggregationOptionsByMetric,
+  getAlignmentOptionsByMetric,
   getLabelKeys,
+  getMetricTypesByService,
 } from './functions';
 
 export default class CloudMonitoringMetricFindQuery {
   constructor(private datasource: CloudMonitoringDatasource) {}
 
-  async execute(query: VariableQueryData) {
+  async execute(query: CloudMonitoringVariableQuery) {
     try {
       if (!query.projectName) {
         query.projectName = this.datasource.getDefaultProject();
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ export default class CloudMonitoringMetricFindQuery {
     }));
   }
 
-  async handleServiceQuery({ projectName }: VariableQueryData) {
+  async handleServiceQuery({ projectName }: CloudMonitoringVariableQuery) {
     const metricDescriptors = await this.datasource.getMetricTypes(projectName);
     const services: any[] = extractServicesFromMetricDescriptors(metricDescriptors);
     return services.map(s => ({
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ export default class CloudMonitoringMetricFindQuery {
     }));
   }
 
-  async handleMetricTypesQuery({ selectedService, projectName }: VariableQueryData) {
+  async handleMetricTypesQuery({ selectedService, projectName }: CloudMonitoringVariableQuery) {
     if (!selectedService) {
       return [];
     }
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ export default class CloudMonitoringMetricFindQuery {
     );
   }
 
-  async handleLabelKeysQuery({ selectedMetricType, projectName }: VariableQueryData) {
+  async handleLabelKeysQuery({ selectedMetricType, projectName }: CloudMonitoringVariableQuery) {
     if (!selectedMetricType) {
       return [];
     }
@@ -95,7 +95,7 @@ export default class CloudMonitoringMetricFindQuery {
     return labelKeys.map(this.toFindQueryResult);
   }
 
-  async handleLabelValuesQuery({ selectedMetricType, labelKey, projectName }: VariableQueryData) {
+  async handleLabelValuesQuery({ selectedMetricType, labelKey, projectName }: CloudMonitoringVariableQuery) {
     if (!selectedMetricType) {
       return [];
     }
@@ -106,7 +106,7 @@ export default class CloudMonitoringMetricFindQuery {
     return values.map(this.toFindQueryResult);
   }
 
-  async handleResourceTypeQuery({ selectedMetricType, projectName }: VariableQueryData) {
+  async handleResourceTypeQuery({ selectedMetricType, projectName }: CloudMonitoringVariableQuery) {
     if (!selectedMetricType) {
       return [];
     }
@@ -115,7 +115,7 @@ export default class CloudMonitoringMetricFindQuery {
     return labels['resource.type'].map(this.toFindQueryResult);
   }
 
-  async handleAlignersQuery({ selectedMetricType, projectName }: VariableQueryData) {
+  async handleAlignersQuery({ selectedMetricType, projectName }: CloudMonitoringVariableQuery) {
     if (!selectedMetricType) {
       return [];
     }
@@ -131,7 +131,7 @@ export default class CloudMonitoringMetricFindQuery {
     return getAlignmentOptionsByMetric(descriptor.valueType, descriptor.metricKind).map(this.toFindQueryResult);
   }
 
-  async handleAggregationQuery({ selectedMetricType, projectName }: VariableQueryData) {
+  async handleAggregationQuery({ selectedMetricType, projectName }: CloudMonitoringVariableQuery) {
     if (!selectedMetricType) {
       return [];
     }
@@ -150,12 +150,12 @@ export default class CloudMonitoringMetricFindQuery {
     );
   }
 
-  async handleSLOServicesQuery({ projectName }: VariableQueryData) {
+  async handleSLOServicesQuery({ projectName }: CloudMonitoringVariableQuery) {
     const services = await this.datasource.getSLOServices(projectName);
     return services.map(this.toFindQueryResult);
   }
 
-  async handleSLOQuery({ selectedSLOService, projectName }: VariableQueryData) {
+  async handleSLOQuery({ selectedSLOService, projectName }: CloudMonitoringVariableQuery) {
     const slos = await this.datasource.getServiceLevelObjectives(projectName, selectedSLOService);
     return slos.map(this.toFindQueryResult);
   }
diff --git a/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloud-monitoring/components/AnnotationQueryEditor.tsx b/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloud-monitoring/components/AnnotationQueryEditor.tsx
index 0f59502c208..278d7bb46f0 100644
--- a/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloud-monitoring/components/AnnotationQueryEditor.tsx
+++ b/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloud-monitoring/components/AnnotationQueryEditor.tsx
@@ -1,15 +1,15 @@
 import React from 'react';
 import { LegacyForms } from '@grafana/ui';
-const { Input } = LegacyForms;
-
 import { TemplateSrv } from '@grafana/runtime';
 import { SelectableValue } from '@grafana/data';
 
 import CloudMonitoringDatasource from '../datasource';
-import { Metrics, LabelFilter, AnnotationsHelp, Project } from './';
+import { AnnotationsHelp, LabelFilter, Metrics, Project } from './';
 import { toOption } from '../functions';
 import { AnnotationTarget, MetricDescriptor } from '../types';
 
+const { Input } = LegacyForms;
+
 export interface Props {
   onQueryChange: (target: AnnotationTarget) => void;
   target: AnnotationTarget;
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ export class AnnotationQueryEditor extends React.Component<Props, State> {
 
     const variableOptionGroup = {
       label: 'Template Variables',
-      options: datasource.variables.map(toOption),
+      options: datasource.getVariables().map(toOption),
     };
 
     const projects = await datasource.getProjects();
diff --git a/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloud-monitoring/components/QueryEditor.tsx b/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloud-monitoring/components/QueryEditor.tsx
index 02eb2041cc7..c595749a435 100644
--- a/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloud-monitoring/components/QueryEditor.tsx
+++ b/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloud-monitoring/components/QueryEditor.tsx
@@ -1,11 +1,11 @@
 import React, { PureComponent } from 'react';
 import appEvents from 'app/core/app_events';
 import { CoreEvents } from 'app/types';
-import { MetricQueryEditor, QueryTypeSelector, SLOQueryEditor, Help } from './';
+import { Help, MetricQueryEditor, QueryTypeSelector, SLOQueryEditor } from './';
 import { CloudMonitoringQuery, MetricQuery, QueryType, SLOQuery } from '../types';
 import { defaultQuery } from './MetricQueryEditor';
 import { defaultQuery as defaultSLOQuery } from './SLOQueryEditor';
-import { toOption, formatCloudMonitoringError } from '../functions';
+import { formatCloudMonitoringError, toOption } from '../functions';
 import CloudMonitoringDatasource from '../datasource';
 import { ExploreQueryFieldProps } from '@grafana/data';
 
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ export class QueryEditor extends PureComponent<Props, State> {
     const variableOptionGroup = {
       label: 'Template Variables',
       expanded: false,
-      options: datasource.variables.map(toOption),
+      options: datasource.getVariables().map(toOption),
     };
 
     return (
diff --git a/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloud-monitoring/components/VariableQueryEditor.test.tsx b/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloud-monitoring/components/VariableQueryEditor.test.tsx
index d431b07bd13..5c2dc1e7ca0 100644
--- a/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloud-monitoring/components/VariableQueryEditor.test.tsx
+++ b/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloud-monitoring/components/VariableQueryEditor.test.tsx
@@ -1,42 +1,38 @@
 import React from 'react';
 // @ts-ignore
 import renderer from 'react-test-renderer';
-import { CloudMonitoringVariableQueryEditor } from './VariableQueryEditor';
-import { VariableQueryProps } from 'app/types/plugins';
-import { MetricFindQueryTypes } from '../types';
-import { VariableModel } from 'app/features/variables/types';
+import { CloudMonitoringVariableQueryEditor, Props } from './VariableQueryEditor';
+import { CloudMonitoringVariableQuery, MetricFindQueryTypes } from '../types';
+import CloudMonitoringDatasource from '../datasource';
+import { VariableModel } from '@grafana/data';
 
 jest.mock('../functions', () => ({
   getMetricTypes: (): any => ({ metricTypes: [], selectedMetricType: '' }),
   extractServicesFromMetricDescriptors: (): any[] => [],
 }));
 
-jest.mock('../../../../core/config', () => {
-  console.warn('[This test uses old variable system, needs a rewrite]');
-  const original = jest.requireActual('../../../../core/config');
-  const config = original.getConfig();
+jest.mock('@grafana/runtime', () => {
+  const original = jest.requireActual('@grafana/runtime');
   return {
-    getConfig: () => ({
-      ...config,
-      featureToggles: {
-        ...config.featureToggles,
-        newVariables: false,
-      },
+    ...original,
+    getTemplateSrv: () => ({
+      replace: (s: string) => s,
+      getVariables: () => ([] as unknown) as VariableModel[],
     }),
   };
 });
 
-const props: VariableQueryProps = {
-  onChange: (query, definition) => {},
-  query: {},
-  datasource: {
+const props: Props = {
+  onChange: query => {},
+  query: ({} as unknown) as CloudMonitoringVariableQuery,
+  datasource: ({
     getDefaultProject: () => '',
     getProjects: async () => Promise.resolve([]),
     getMetricTypes: async (projectName: string) => Promise.resolve([]),
-    getSLOServices: async (projectName: string, serviceId: string) => Promise.resolve([]),
+    getSLOServices: async (projectName: string) => Promise.resolve([]),
     getServiceLevelObjectives: (projectName: string, serviceId: string) => Promise.resolve([]),
-  },
-  templateSrv: { replace: (s: string) => s, getVariables: () => ([] as unknown) as VariableModel[] },
+  } as unknown) as CloudMonitoringDatasource,
+  onRunQuery: () => {},
 };
 
 describe('VariableQueryEditor', () => {
@@ -46,10 +42,9 @@ describe('VariableQueryEditor', () => {
   });
 
   describe('and a new variable is created', () => {
-    // these test need to be updated to reflect the changes from old variables system to new
     it('should trigger a query using the first query type in the array', done => {
-      props.onChange = (query, definition) => {
-        expect(definition).toBe('Google Cloud Monitoring - Projects');
+      props.onChange = query => {
+        expect(query.selectedQueryType).toBe('projects');
         done();
       };
       renderer.create(<CloudMonitoringVariableQueryEditor {...props} />).toJSON();
@@ -57,11 +52,10 @@ describe('VariableQueryEditor', () => {
   });
 
   describe('and an existing variable is edited', () => {
-    // these test need to be updated to reflect the changes from old variables system to new
     it('should trigger new query using the saved query type', done => {
-      props.query = { selectedQueryType: MetricFindQueryTypes.LabelKeys };
-      props.onChange = (query, definition) => {
-        expect(definition).toBe('Google Cloud Monitoring - Label Keys');
+      props.query = ({ selectedQueryType: MetricFindQueryTypes.LabelKeys } as unknown) as CloudMonitoringVariableQuery;
+      props.onChange = query => {
+        expect(query.selectedQueryType).toBe('labelKeys');
         done();
       };
       renderer.create(<CloudMonitoringVariableQueryEditor {...props} />).toJSON();
diff --git a/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloud-monitoring/components/VariableQueryEditor.tsx b/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloud-monitoring/components/VariableQueryEditor.tsx
index ae9252cfb55..8ae689bdf30 100644
--- a/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloud-monitoring/components/VariableQueryEditor.tsx
+++ b/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloud-monitoring/components/VariableQueryEditor.tsx
@@ -1,10 +1,26 @@
 import React, { PureComponent } from 'react';
-import { VariableQueryProps } from 'app/types/plugins';
 import { SimpleSelect } from './';
 import { extractServicesFromMetricDescriptors, getLabelKeys, getMetricTypes } from '../functions';
-import { MetricFindQueryTypes, VariableQueryData } from '../types';
+import {
+  CloudMonitoringOptions,
+  CloudMonitoringQuery,
+  CloudMonitoringVariableQuery,
+  MetricDescriptor,
+  MetricFindQueryTypes,
+  VariableQueryData,
+} from '../types';
+import CloudMonitoringDatasource from '../datasource';
+import { getTemplateSrv } from '@grafana/runtime';
+import { QueryEditorProps } from '@grafana/data';
 
-export class CloudMonitoringVariableQueryEditor extends PureComponent<VariableQueryProps, VariableQueryData> {
+export type Props = QueryEditorProps<
+  CloudMonitoringDatasource,
+  CloudMonitoringQuery,
+  CloudMonitoringOptions,
+  CloudMonitoringVariableQuery
+>;
+
+export class CloudMonitoringVariableQueryEditor extends PureComponent<Props, VariableQueryData> {
   queryTypes: Array<{ value: string; name: string }> = [
     { value: MetricFindQueryTypes.Projects, name: 'Projects' },
     { value: MetricFindQueryTypes.Services, name: 'Services' },
@@ -36,7 +52,7 @@ export class CloudMonitoringVariableQueryEditor extends PureComponent<VariableQu
     loading: true,
   };
 
-  constructor(props: VariableQueryProps) {
+  constructor(props: Props) {
     super(props);
     this.state = Object.assign(
       this.defaults,
@@ -46,7 +62,7 @@ export class CloudMonitoringVariableQueryEditor extends PureComponent<VariableQu
   }
 
   async componentDidMount() {
-    const projects = await this.props.datasource.getProjects();
+    const projects = (await this.props.datasource.getProjects()) as MetricDescriptor[];
     const metricDescriptors = await this.props.datasource.getMetricTypes(
       this.props.query.projectName || this.props.datasource.getDefaultProject()
     );
@@ -56,7 +72,7 @@ export class CloudMonitoringVariableQueryEditor extends PureComponent<VariableQu
     }));
 
     let selectedService = '';
-    if (services.some(s => s.value === this.props.templateSrv.replace(this.state.selectedService))) {
+    if (services.some(s => s.value === getTemplateSrv().replace(this.state.selectedService))) {
       selectedService = this.state.selectedService;
     } else if (services && services.length > 0) {
       selectedService = services[0].value;
@@ -65,8 +81,8 @@ export class CloudMonitoringVariableQueryEditor extends PureComponent<VariableQu
     const { metricTypes, selectedMetricType } = getMetricTypes(
       metricDescriptors,
       this.state.selectedMetricType,
-      this.props.templateSrv.replace(this.state.selectedMetricType),
-      this.props.templateSrv.replace(selectedService)
+      getTemplateSrv().replace(this.state.selectedMetricType),
+      getTemplateSrv().replace(selectedService)
     );
 
     const sloServices = await this.props.datasource.getSLOServices(this.state.projectName);
@@ -87,8 +103,7 @@ export class CloudMonitoringVariableQueryEditor extends PureComponent<VariableQu
 
   onPropsChange = () => {
     const { metricDescriptors, labels, metricTypes, services, ...queryModel } = this.state;
-    const query = this.queryTypes.find(q => q.value === this.state.selectedQueryType)!;
-    this.props.onChange(queryModel, `Google Cloud Monitoring - ${query.name}`);
+    this.props.onChange({ ...queryModel, refId: 'CloudMonitoringVariableQueryEditor-VariableQuery' });
   };
 
   async onQueryTypeChange(queryType: string) {
@@ -106,8 +121,8 @@ export class CloudMonitoringVariableQueryEditor extends PureComponent<VariableQu
     const { metricTypes, selectedMetricType } = getMetricTypes(
       metricDescriptors,
       this.state.selectedMetricType,
-      this.props.templateSrv.replace(this.state.selectedMetricType),
-      this.props.templateSrv.replace(this.state.selectedService)
+      getTemplateSrv().replace(this.state.selectedMetricType),
+      getTemplateSrv().replace(this.state.selectedService)
     );
 
     const sloServices = await this.props.datasource.getSLOServices(projectName);
@@ -126,8 +141,8 @@ export class CloudMonitoringVariableQueryEditor extends PureComponent<VariableQu
     const { metricTypes, selectedMetricType } = getMetricTypes(
       this.state.metricDescriptors,
       this.state.selectedMetricType,
-      this.props.templateSrv.replace(this.state.selectedMetricType),
-      this.props.templateSrv.replace(service)
+      getTemplateSrv().replace(this.state.selectedMetricType),
+      getTemplateSrv().replace(service)
     );
     const state: any = {
       selectedService: service,
@@ -150,7 +165,7 @@ export class CloudMonitoringVariableQueryEditor extends PureComponent<VariableQu
     this.setState({ labelKey }, () => this.onPropsChange());
   }
 
-  componentDidUpdate(prevProps: Readonly<VariableQueryProps>, prevState: Readonly<VariableQueryData>) {
+  componentDidUpdate(prevProps: Readonly<Props>, prevState: Readonly<VariableQueryData>) {
     const selecQueryTypeChanged = prevState.selectedQueryType !== this.state.selectedQueryType;
     const selectSLOServiceChanged = this.state.selectedSLOService !== prevState.selectedSLOService;
     if (selecQueryTypeChanged || selectSLOServiceChanged) {
@@ -162,7 +177,7 @@ export class CloudMonitoringVariableQueryEditor extends PureComponent<VariableQu
     let result = { labels: this.state.labels, labelKey: this.state.labelKey };
     if (selectedMetricType && selectedQueryType === MetricFindQueryTypes.LabelValues) {
       const labels = await getLabelKeys(this.props.datasource, selectedMetricType, projectName);
-      const labelKey = labels.some(l => l === this.props.templateSrv.replace(this.state.labelKey))
+      const labelKey = labels.some(l => l === getTemplateSrv().replace(this.state.labelKey))
         ? this.state.labelKey
         : labels[0];
       result = { labels, labelKey };
@@ -171,10 +186,12 @@ export class CloudMonitoringVariableQueryEditor extends PureComponent<VariableQu
   }
 
   insertTemplateVariables(options: any) {
-    const templateVariables = this.props.templateSrv.getVariables().map((v: any) => ({
-      name: `$${v.name}`,
-      value: `$${v.name}`,
-    }));
+    const templateVariables = getTemplateSrv()
+      .getVariables()
+      .map((v: any) => ({
+        name: `$${v.name}`,
+        value: `$${v.name}`,
+      }));
     return [...templateVariables, ...options];
   }
 
diff --git a/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloud-monitoring/datasource.ts b/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloud-monitoring/datasource.ts
index 5e66e97f407..b955c51473b 100644
--- a/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloud-monitoring/datasource.ts
+++ b/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloud-monitoring/datasource.ts
@@ -12,17 +12,10 @@ import {
 import { getTemplateSrv, TemplateSrv } from 'app/features/templating/template_srv';
 import { getTimeSrv, TimeSrv } from 'app/features/dashboard/services/TimeSrv';
 
-import {
-  CloudMonitoringQuery,
-  MetricDescriptor,
-  CloudMonitoringOptions,
-  Filter,
-  VariableQueryData,
-  QueryType,
-} from './types';
+import { CloudMonitoringOptions, CloudMonitoringQuery, Filter, MetricDescriptor, QueryType } from './types';
 import { cloudMonitoringUnitMappings } from './constants';
 import API from './api';
-import CloudMonitoringMetricFindQuery from './CloudMonitoringMetricFindQuery';
+import { CloudMonitoringVariableSupport } from './variables';
 
 export default class CloudMonitoringDatasource extends DataSourceApi<CloudMonitoringQuery, CloudMonitoringOptions> {
   api: API;
@@ -36,9 +29,11 @@ export default class CloudMonitoringDatasource extends DataSourceApi<CloudMonito
     super(instanceSettings);
     this.authenticationType = instanceSettings.jsonData.authenticationType || 'jwt';
     this.api = new API(`${instanceSettings.url!}/cloudmonitoring/v3/projects/`);
+
+    this.variables = new CloudMonitoringVariableSupport(this);
   }
 
-  get variables() {
+  getVariables() {
     return this.templateSrv.getVariables().map(v => `$${v.name}`);
   }
 
@@ -125,12 +120,6 @@ export default class CloudMonitoringDatasource extends DataSourceApi<CloudMonito
     return results;
   }
 
-  async metricFindQuery(query: VariableQueryData) {
-    await this.ensureGCEDefaultProject();
-    const cloudMonitoringMetricFindQuery = new CloudMonitoringMetricFindQuery(this);
-    return cloudMonitoringMetricFindQuery.execute(query);
-  }
-
   async getTimeSeries(options: DataQueryRequest<CloudMonitoringQuery>) {
     await this.ensureGCEDefaultProject();
     const queries = options.targets
diff --git a/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloud-monitoring/types.ts b/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloud-monitoring/types.ts
index 738de280b2e..aaaf73b79bf 100644
--- a/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloud-monitoring/types.ts
+++ b/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloud-monitoring/types.ts
@@ -26,6 +26,17 @@ export enum MetricFindQueryTypes {
   SLO = 'slo',
 }
 
+export interface CloudMonitoringVariableQuery extends DataQuery {
+  selectedQueryType: string;
+  selectedService: string;
+  selectedMetricType: string;
+  selectedSLOService: string;
+  labelKey: string;
+  projects: Array<{ value: string; name: string }>;
+  sloServices: Array<{ value: string; name: string }>;
+  projectName: string;
+}
+
 export interface VariableQueryData {
   selectedQueryType: string;
   metricDescriptors: MetricDescriptor[];
diff --git a/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloud-monitoring/variables.ts b/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloud-monitoring/variables.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..7c2d251962c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloud-monitoring/variables.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+import { from, Observable } from 'rxjs';
+import { map, mergeMap } from 'rxjs/operators';
+import { CustomVariableSupport, DataQueryRequest, DataQueryResponse } from '@grafana/data';
+
+import CloudMonitoringDatasource from './datasource';
+import { CloudMonitoringVariableQuery } from './types';
+import CloudMonitoringMetricFindQuery from './CloudMonitoringMetricFindQuery';
+import { CloudMonitoringVariableQueryEditor } from './components/VariableQueryEditor';
+
+export class CloudMonitoringVariableSupport extends CustomVariableSupport<
+  CloudMonitoringDatasource,
+  CloudMonitoringVariableQuery
+> {
+  private readonly metricFindQuery: CloudMonitoringMetricFindQuery;
+
+  constructor(private readonly datasource: CloudMonitoringDatasource) {
+    super();
+    this.metricFindQuery = new CloudMonitoringMetricFindQuery(datasource);
+    this.query = this.query.bind(this);
+  }
+
+  editor = CloudMonitoringVariableQueryEditor;
+
+  query(request: DataQueryRequest<CloudMonitoringVariableQuery>): Observable<DataQueryResponse> {
+    const executeObservable = from(this.metricFindQuery.execute(request.targets[0]));
+    return from(this.datasource.ensureGCEDefaultProject()).pipe(
+      mergeMap(() => executeObservable),
+      map(data => ({ data }))
+    );
+  }
+}
diff --git a/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/components/MetricsQueryFieldsEditor.tsx b/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/components/MetricsQueryFieldsEditor.tsx
index bf42ed78a23..fffd8f83cac 100644
--- a/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/components/MetricsQueryFieldsEditor.tsx
+++ b/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/components/MetricsQueryFieldsEditor.tsx
@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
-import React, { useState, useEffect } from 'react';
+import React, { useEffect, useState } from 'react';
 import { SelectableValue } from '@grafana/data';
 import { Segment, SegmentAsync } from '@grafana/ui';
-import { SelectableStrings, CloudWatchMetricsQuery } from '../types';
+import { CloudWatchMetricsQuery, SelectableStrings } from '../types';
 import { CloudWatchDatasource } from '../datasource';
-import { Stats, Dimensions, QueryInlineField } from '.';
+import { Dimensions, QueryInlineField, Stats } from '.';
 
 export type Props = {
   query: CloudWatchMetricsQuery;
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ export function MetricsQueryFieldsEditor({
   useEffect(() => {
     const variableOptionGroup = {
       label: 'Template Variables',
-      options: datasource.variables.map(toOption),
+      options: datasource.getVariables().map(toOption),
     };
 
     Promise.all([datasource.metricFindQuery('regions()'), datasource.metricFindQuery('namespaces()')]).then(
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ export function MetricsQueryFieldsEditor({
 
   const appendTemplateVariables = (values: SelectableValue[]) => [
     ...values,
-    { label: 'Template Variables', options: datasource.variables.map(toOption) },
+    { label: 'Template Variables', options: datasource.getVariables().map(toOption) },
   ];
 
   const toOption = (value: any) => ({ label: value, value });
diff --git a/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/datasource.ts b/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/datasource.ts
index eaa99536d68..9fb183a91c3 100644
--- a/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/datasource.ts
+++ b/public/app/plugins/datasource/cloudwatch/datasource.ts
@@ -1,28 +1,44 @@
 import React from 'react';
 import angular from 'angular';
 import _ from 'lodash';
-import { notifyApp } from 'app/core/actions';
-import { createErrorNotification } from 'app/core/copy/appNotification';
-import { AppNotificationTimeout } from 'app/types';
-import { store } from 'app/store/store';
+import { from, merge, Observable, of, zip } from 'rxjs';
+import {
+  catchError,
+  concatMap,
+  filter,
+  finalize,
+  map,
+  mergeMap,
+  repeat,
+  scan,
+  share,
+  takeWhile,
+  tap,
+} from 'rxjs/operators';
+import { getBackendSrv, getGrafanaLiveSrv, toDataQueryResponse } from '@grafana/runtime';
+import { RowContextOptions } from '@grafana/ui/src/components/Logs/LogRowContextProvider';
 import {
   DataFrame,
+  DataQueryErrorType,
   DataQueryRequest,
   DataQueryResponse,
   DataSourceApi,
   DataSourceInstanceSettings,
   dateMath,
+  LiveChannelEvent,
+  LiveChannelMessageEvent,
+  LiveChannelScope,
   LoadingState,
   LogRowModel,
+  rangeUtil,
   ScopedVars,
   TimeRange,
-  rangeUtil,
-  DataQueryErrorType,
-  LiveChannelScope,
-  LiveChannelEvent,
-  LiveChannelMessageEvent,
 } from '@grafana/data';
-import { getBackendSrv, getGrafanaLiveSrv, toDataQueryResponse } from '@grafana/runtime';
+
+import { notifyApp } from 'app/core/actions';
+import { createErrorNotification } from 'app/core/copy/appNotification';
+import { AppNotificationTimeout } from 'app/types';
+import { store } from 'app/store/store';
 import { getTemplateSrv, TemplateSrv } from 'app/features/templating/template_srv';
 import { getTimeSrv, TimeSrv } from 'app/features/dashboard/services/TimeSrv';
 import { ThrottlingErrorMessage } from './components/ThrottlingErrorMessage';
@@ -37,30 +53,14 @@ import {
   GetLogEventsRequest,
   GetLogGroupFieldsRequest,
   GetLogGroupFieldsResponse,
+  isCloudWatchLogsQuery,
   LogAction,
   MetricQuery,
   MetricRequest,
   TSDBResponse,
-  isCloudWatchLogsQuery,
 } from './types';
-import { from, Observable, of, merge, zip } from 'rxjs';
-import {
-  catchError,
-  finalize,
-  map,
-  mergeMap,
-  tap,
-  concatMap,
-  scan,
-  share,
-  repeat,
-  takeWhile,
-  filter,
-} from 'rxjs/operators';
 import { CloudWatchLanguageProvider } from './language_provider';
-
 import { VariableWithMultiSupport } from 'app/features/variables/types';
-import { RowContextOptions } from '@grafana/ui/src/components/Logs/LogRowContextProvider';
 import { AwsUrl, encodeUrl } from './aws_url';
 import { increasingInterval } from './utils/rxjs/increasingInterval';
 import config from 'app/core/config';
@@ -515,7 +515,7 @@ export class CloudWatchDatasource extends DataSourceApi<CloudWatchQuery, CloudWa
     };
   };
 
-  get variables() {
+  getVariables() {
     return this.templateSrv.getVariables().map(v => `$${v.name}`);
   }
 
diff --git a/public/app/plugins/datasource/prometheus/datasource.ts b/public/app/plugins/datasource/prometheus/datasource.ts
index 472dd6492bb..ee3f3e40b40 100644
--- a/public/app/plugins/datasource/prometheus/datasource.ts
+++ b/public/app/plugins/datasource/prometheus/datasource.ts
@@ -25,7 +25,6 @@ import { catchError, filter, map, tap } from 'rxjs/operators';
 import addLabelToQuery from './add_label_to_query';
 import PrometheusLanguageProvider from './language_provider';
 import { expandRecordingRules } from './language_utils';
-import PrometheusMetricFindQuery from './metric_find_query';
 import { getQueryHints } from './query_hints';
 import { getOriginalMetricName, renderTemplate, transform } from './result_transformer';
 import {
@@ -39,6 +38,8 @@ import {
   PromScalarData,
   PromVectorData,
 } from './types';
+import { PrometheusVariableSupport } from './variables';
+import PrometheusMetricFindQuery from './metric_find_query';
 
 export const ANNOTATION_QUERY_STEP_DEFAULT = '60s';
 
@@ -78,6 +79,8 @@ export class PrometheusDatasource extends DataSourceApi<PromQuery, PromOptions>
     this.languageProvider = new PrometheusLanguageProvider(this);
     this.lookupsDisabled = instanceSettings.jsonData.disableMetricsLookup ?? false;
     this.customQueryParameters = new URLSearchParams(instanceSettings.jsonData.customQueryParameters);
+
+    this.variables = new PrometheusVariableSupport(this, this.templateSrv, this.timeSrv);
   }
 
   init = () => {
diff --git a/public/app/plugins/datasource/prometheus/variables.ts b/public/app/plugins/datasource/prometheus/variables.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..8ce4d60431c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/public/app/plugins/datasource/prometheus/variables.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,56 @@
+import { from, Observable, of } from 'rxjs';
+import { map } from 'rxjs/operators';
+import {
+  DataQueryRequest,
+  DataQueryResponse,
+  rangeUtil,
+  StandardVariableQuery,
+  StandardVariableSupport,
+} from '@grafana/data';
+import { getTemplateSrv, TemplateSrv } from '@grafana/runtime';
+
+import { PrometheusDatasource } from './datasource';
+import { PromQuery } from './types';
+import PrometheusMetricFindQuery from './metric_find_query';
+import { getTimeSrv, TimeSrv } from '../../../features/dashboard/services/TimeSrv';
+
+export class PrometheusVariableSupport extends StandardVariableSupport<PrometheusDatasource> {
+  constructor(
+    private readonly datasource: PrometheusDatasource,
+    private readonly templateSrv: TemplateSrv = getTemplateSrv(),
+    private readonly timeSrv: TimeSrv = getTimeSrv()
+  ) {
+    super();
+    this.query = this.query.bind(this);
+  }
+
+  query(request: DataQueryRequest<PromQuery>): Observable<DataQueryResponse> {
+    const query = request.targets[0].expr;
+    if (!query) {
+      return of({ data: [] });
+    }
+
+    const scopedVars = {
+      ...request.scopedVars,
+      __interval: { text: this.datasource.interval, value: this.datasource.interval },
+      __interval_ms: {
+        text: rangeUtil.intervalToMs(this.datasource.interval),
+        value: rangeUtil.intervalToMs(this.datasource.interval),
+      },
+      ...this.datasource.getRangeScopedVars(this.timeSrv.timeRange()),
+    };
+
+    const interpolated = this.templateSrv.replace(query, scopedVars, this.datasource.interpolateQueryExpr);
+    const metricFindQuery = new PrometheusMetricFindQuery(this.datasource, interpolated);
+    const metricFindStream = from(metricFindQuery.process());
+
+    return metricFindStream.pipe(map(results => ({ data: results })));
+  }
+
+  toDataQuery(query: StandardVariableQuery): PromQuery {
+    return {
+      refId: 'PrometheusDatasource-VariableQuery',
+      expr: query.query,
+    };
+  }
+}
diff --git a/public/app/plugins/datasource/testdata/datasource.ts b/public/app/plugins/datasource/testdata/datasource.ts
index 728fb43bed2..634e1e97762 100644
--- a/public/app/plugins/datasource/testdata/datasource.ts
+++ b/public/app/plugins/datasource/testdata/datasource.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,9 @@
 import set from 'lodash/set';
+import { from, merge, Observable, of } from 'rxjs';
+import { delay, map } from 'rxjs/operators';
 
 import {
+  AnnotationEvent,
   ArrayDataFrame,
   arrowTableToDataFrame,
   base64StringToArrowTable,
@@ -10,28 +13,25 @@ import {
   DataQueryResponse,
   DataSourceApi,
   DataSourceInstanceSettings,
+  DataTopic,
+  LiveChannelScope,
   LoadingState,
-  MetricFindValue,
   TableData,
-  TimeSeries,
   TimeRange,
-  DataTopic,
-  AnnotationEvent,
-  LiveChannelScope,
+  TimeSeries,
 } from '@grafana/data';
 import { Scenario, TestDataQuery } from './types';
 import {
   getBackendSrv,
-  toDataQueryError,
+  getLiveMeasurementsObserver,
   getTemplateSrv,
   TemplateSrv,
-  getLiveMeasurementsObserver,
+  toDataQueryError,
 } from '@grafana/runtime';
 import { queryMetricTree } from './metricTree';
-import { from, merge, Observable, of } from 'rxjs';
-import { map } from 'rxjs/operators';
 import { runStream } from './runStreams';
 import { getSearchFilterScopedVar } from 'app/features/variables/utils';
+import { TestDataVariableSupport } from './variables';
 
 type TestData = TimeSeries | TableData;
 
@@ -43,6 +43,7 @@ export class TestDataDataSource extends DataSourceApi<TestDataQuery> {
     private readonly templateSrv: TemplateSrv = getTemplateSrv()
   ) {
     super(instanceSettings);
+    this.variables = new TestDataVariableSupport();
   }
 
   query(options: DataQueryRequest<TestDataQuery>): Observable<DataQueryResponse> {
@@ -71,6 +72,9 @@ export class TestDataDataSource extends DataSourceApi<TestDataQuery> {
         case 'annotations':
           streams.push(this.annotationDataTopicTest(target, options));
           break;
+        case 'variables-query':
+          streams.push(this.variablesQuery(target, options));
+          break;
         default:
           queries.push({
             ...target,
@@ -188,18 +192,17 @@ export class TestDataDataSource extends DataSourceApi<TestDataQuery> {
     return this.scenariosCache;
   }
 
-  metricFindQuery(query: string, options: any) {
-    return new Promise<MetricFindValue[]>((resolve, reject) => {
-      setTimeout(() => {
-        const interpolatedQuery = this.templateSrv.replace(
-          query,
-          getSearchFilterScopedVar({ query, wildcardChar: '*', options })
-        );
-        const children = queryMetricTree(interpolatedQuery);
-        const items = children.map(item => ({ value: item.name, text: item.name }));
-        resolve(items);
-      }, 100);
-    });
+  variablesQuery(target: TestDataQuery, options: DataQueryRequest<TestDataQuery>): Observable<DataQueryResponse> {
+    const query = target.stringInput;
+    const interpolatedQuery = this.templateSrv.replace(
+      query,
+      getSearchFilterScopedVar({ query, wildcardChar: '*', options: options.scopedVars })
+    );
+    const children = queryMetricTree(interpolatedQuery);
+    const items = children.map(item => ({ value: item.name, text: item.name }));
+    const dataFrame = new ArrayDataFrame(items);
+
+    return of({ data: [dataFrame] }).pipe(delay(100));
   }
 }
 
diff --git a/public/app/plugins/datasource/testdata/variables.ts b/public/app/plugins/datasource/testdata/variables.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..d0d6b5783e3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/public/app/plugins/datasource/testdata/variables.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+import { StandardVariableQuery, StandardVariableSupport } from '@grafana/data';
+
+import { TestDataDataSource } from './datasource';
+import { TestDataQuery } from './types';
+
+export class TestDataVariableSupport extends StandardVariableSupport<TestDataDataSource> {
+  toDataQuery(query: StandardVariableQuery): TestDataQuery {
+    return {
+      refId: 'TestDataDataSource-QueryVariable',
+      stringInput: query.query,
+      scenarioId: 'variables-query',
+      csvWave: null,
+      points: [],
+    };
+  }
+}