diff --git a/modules/redpanda/mounts/bootstrap.yaml.tpl b/modules/redpanda/mounts/bootstrap.yaml.tpl
index cbc21b7503..78c7053a27 100644
--- a/modules/redpanda/mounts/bootstrap.yaml.tpl
+++ b/modules/redpanda/mounts/bootstrap.yaml.tpl
@@ -13,4 +13,8 @@ superusers:
 
 {{- if .KafkaAPIEnableAuthorization }}
 kafka_enable_authorization: true
-{{- end }}
\ No newline at end of file
+{{- end }}
+
+{{- if .AutoCreateTopics }}
+auto_create_topics_enabled: true
+{{- end }}
diff --git a/modules/redpanda/mounts/redpanda.yaml.tpl b/modules/redpanda/mounts/redpanda.yaml.tpl
index dc57230d7b..9c7922d75d 100644
--- a/modules/redpanda/mounts/redpanda.yaml.tpl
+++ b/modules/redpanda/mounts/redpanda.yaml.tpl
@@ -37,4 +37,6 @@ schema_registry:
 schema_registry_client:
   brokers:
     - address: localhost
-      port: 9093
\ No newline at end of file
+      port: 9093
+
+auto_create_topics_enabled: {{ .AutoCreateTopics }}
diff --git a/modules/redpanda/options.go b/modules/redpanda/options.go
index f140fc40b4..29a32bdb9b 100644
--- a/modules/redpanda/options.go
+++ b/modules/redpanda/options.go
@@ -23,6 +23,9 @@ type options struct {
 	// You must use SCRAM-SHA-256 as algorithm when authenticating on the
 	// Kafka API.
 	ServiceAccounts map[string]string
+
+	// AutoCreateTopics is a flag to allow topic auto creation.
+	AutoCreateTopics bool
 }
 
 func defaultOptions() options {
@@ -32,6 +35,7 @@ func defaultOptions() options {
 		KafkaAuthenticationMethod:          "none",
 		SchemaRegistryAuthenticationMethod: "none",
 		ServiceAccounts:                    make(map[string]string, 0),
+		AutoCreateTopics:                   false,
 	}
 }
 
@@ -82,3 +86,10 @@ func WithEnableSchemaRegistryHTTPBasicAuth() Option {
 		o.SchemaRegistryAuthenticationMethod = "http_basic"
 	}
 }
+
+// WithAutoCreateTopics enables topic auto creation.
+func WithAutoCreateTopics() Option {
+	return func(o *options) {
+		o.AutoCreateTopics = true
+	}
+}
diff --git a/modules/redpanda/redpanda.go b/modules/redpanda/redpanda.go
index f429add368..cc373b42cd 100644
--- a/modules/redpanda/redpanda.go
+++ b/modules/redpanda/redpanda.go
@@ -229,6 +229,7 @@ func createBootstrapConfigFile(settings options) (*os.File, error) {
 	bootstrapTplParams := redpandaBootstrapConfigTplParams{
 		Superusers:                  settings.Superusers,
 		KafkaAPIEnableAuthorization: settings.KafkaEnableAuthorization,
+		AutoCreateTopics:            settings.AutoCreateTopics,
 	}
 
 	tpl, err := template.New("bootstrap.yaml").Parse(bootstrapConfigTpl)
@@ -257,6 +258,7 @@ func createBootstrapConfigFile(settings options) (*os.File, error) {
 // byte array.
 func renderNodeConfig(settings options, hostIP string, advertisedKafkaPort int) ([]byte, error) {
 	tplParams := redpandaConfigTplParams{
+		AutoCreateTopics: settings.AutoCreateTopics,
 		KafkaAPI: redpandaConfigTplParamsKafkaAPI{
 			AdvertisedHost:       hostIP,
 			AdvertisedPort:       advertisedKafkaPort,
@@ -284,11 +286,13 @@ func renderNodeConfig(settings options, hostIP string, advertisedKafkaPort int)
 type redpandaBootstrapConfigTplParams struct {
 	Superusers                  []string
 	KafkaAPIEnableAuthorization bool
+	AutoCreateTopics            bool
 }
 
 type redpandaConfigTplParams struct {
-	KafkaAPI       redpandaConfigTplParamsKafkaAPI
-	SchemaRegistry redpandaConfigTplParamsSchemaRegistry
+	KafkaAPI         redpandaConfigTplParamsKafkaAPI
+	SchemaRegistry   redpandaConfigTplParamsSchemaRegistry
+	AutoCreateTopics bool
 }
 
 type redpandaConfigTplParamsKafkaAPI struct {
diff --git a/modules/redpanda/redpanda_test.go b/modules/redpanda/redpanda_test.go
index 346876662a..af7a5244ef 100644
--- a/modules/redpanda/redpanda_test.go
+++ b/modules/redpanda/redpanda_test.go
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
 	"github.com/twmb/franz-go/pkg/kadm"
+	"github.com/twmb/franz-go/pkg/kerr"
 	"github.com/twmb/franz-go/pkg/kgo"
 	"github.com/twmb/franz-go/pkg/sasl/scram"
 )
@@ -35,6 +36,7 @@ func TestRedpanda(t *testing.T) {
 		kgo.SeedBrokers(seedBroker),
 	)
 	require.NoError(t, err)
+	defer kafkaCl.Close()
 
 	kafkaAdmCl := kadm.NewClient(kafkaCl)
 	metadata, err := kafkaAdmCl.Metadata(ctx)
@@ -63,6 +65,10 @@ func TestRedpanda(t *testing.T) {
 	require.NoError(t, err)
 	defer resp.Body.Close()
 	assert.Equal(t, http.StatusOK, resp.StatusCode)
+
+	// Test produce to unknown topic
+	results := kafkaCl.ProduceSync(ctx, &kgo.Record{Topic: "test", Value: []byte("test message")})
+	require.Error(t, results.FirstErr(), kerr.UnknownTopicOrPartition)
 }
 
 func TestRedpandaWithAuthentication(t *testing.T) {
@@ -173,3 +179,29 @@ func TestRedpandaWithAuthentication(t *testing.T) {
 		resp.Body.Close()
 	}
 }
+
+func TestRedpandaProduceWithAutoCreateTopics(t *testing.T) {
+	ctx := context.Background()
+
+	container, err := RunContainer(ctx, WithAutoCreateTopics())
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	t.Cleanup(func() {
+		if err := container.Terminate(ctx); err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("failed to terminate container: %s", err)
+		}
+	})
+
+	brokers, err := container.KafkaSeedBroker(ctx)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	kafkaCl, err := kgo.NewClient(
+		kgo.SeedBrokers(brokers),
+		kgo.AllowAutoTopicCreation(),
+	)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	defer kafkaCl.Close()
+
+	results := kafkaCl.ProduceSync(ctx, &kgo.Record{Topic: "test", Value: []byte("test message")})
+	require.NoError(t, results.FirstErr())
+}