diff --git a/sql/ddl_api.sql b/sql/ddl_api.sql
index 90125fda3..1bdcef756 100644
--- a/sql/ddl_api.sql
+++ b/sql/ddl_api.sql
@@ -187,8 +187,11 @@ AS '@MODULE_PATHNAME@', 'ts_data_node_detach' LANGUAGE C VOLATILE;
 
 -- Execute query on a specified list of data nodes. By default node_list is NULL, which means
 -- to execute the query on every data node
-CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION distributed_exec(query TEXT, node_list name[] = NULL) RETURNS VOID
-AS '@MODULE_PATHNAME@', 'ts_distributed_exec' LANGUAGE C VOLATILE;
+CREATE PROCEDURE distributed_exec(
+       query TEXT,
+       node_list name[] = NULL,
+       transactional BOOLEAN = TRUE)
+AS '@MODULE_PATHNAME@', 'ts_distributed_exec' LANGUAGE C;
 
 -- Sets new replication factor for distributed hypertable
 CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION  set_replication_factor(
diff --git a/sql/updates/latest-dev.sql b/sql/updates/latest-dev.sql
index 76a4e2a58..1f80cb580 100644
--- a/sql/updates/latest-dev.sql
+++ b/sql/updates/latest-dev.sql
@@ -1,2 +1,3 @@
 
 DROP FUNCTION IF EXISTS detach_data_node(name,regclass,boolean,boolean);
+DROP FUNCTION IF EXISTS distributed_exec;
diff --git a/src/compat.h b/src/compat.h
index 33844dd1d..d768264a7 100644
--- a/src/compat.h
+++ b/src/compat.h
@@ -194,6 +194,8 @@
 
 #endif
 
+#define FC_FN_OID(fcinfo) ((fcinfo)->flinfo->fn_oid)
+
 /* convenience setters */
 #define FC_SET_ARG(fcinfo, n, val)                                                                 \
 	do                                                                                             \
diff --git a/tsl/src/remote/dist_commands.c b/tsl/src/remote/dist_commands.c
index 76d1e14f1..8d3d2e0dd 100644
--- a/tsl/src/remote/dist_commands.c
+++ b/tsl/src/remote/dist_commands.c
@@ -9,6 +9,8 @@
 #include <catalog/namespace.h>
 #include <funcapi.h>
 #include <libpq-fe.h>
+#include <utils/lsyscache.h>
+#include <utils/syscache.h>
 
 #include "dist_commands.h"
 #include "dist_txn.h"
@@ -432,13 +434,16 @@ ts_dist_cmd_exec(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 {
 	const char *query = PG_ARGISNULL(0) ? NULL : TextDatumGetCString(PG_GETARG_DATUM(0));
 	ArrayType *data_nodes = PG_ARGISNULL(1) ? NULL : PG_GETARG_ARRAYTYPE_P(1);
+	bool transactional = PG_ARGISNULL(2) ? true : PG_GETARG_BOOL(2);
 	DistCmdResult *result;
 	List *data_node_list;
 	const char *search_path;
 
+	if (!transactional)
+		PreventInTransactionBlock(true, get_func_name(FC_FN_OID(fcinfo)));
+
 	if (NULL == query)
-		ereport(ERROR,
-				(errcode(ERRCODE_INVALID_PARAMETER_VALUE), errmsg("invalid command string")));
+		ereport(ERROR, (errcode(ERRCODE_INVALID_PARAMETER_VALUE), errmsg("empty command string")));
 
 	if (dist_util_membership() != DIST_MEMBER_ACCESS_NODE)
 		ereport(ERROR,
@@ -454,8 +459,7 @@ ts_dist_cmd_exec(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 	result = ts_dist_cmd_invoke_on_data_nodes_using_search_path(query,
 																search_path,
 																data_node_list,
-																true);
-
+																transactional);
 	if (result)
 		ts_dist_cmd_close_response(result);
 
diff --git a/tsl/test/expected/chunk_api-11.out b/tsl/test/expected/chunk_api-11.out
index e42cc9686..ad779fbae 100644
--- a/tsl/test/expected/chunk_api-11.out
+++ b/tsl/test/expected/chunk_api-11.out
@@ -254,12 +254,7 @@ INSERT INTO disttable VALUES ('2018-01-01 05:00:00-8', 1, 23.4, 'green'),
                              ('2018-01-01 06:00:00-8', 4, 22.3, NULL),
                              ('2018-01-01 06:00:00-8', 1, 21.1, 'green');
 -- Make sure we get deterministic behavior across all nodes
-SELECT distributed_exec($$ SELECT setseed(1); $$);
- distributed_exec 
-------------------
- 
-(1 row)
-
+CALL distributed_exec($$ SELECT setseed(1); $$);
 -- No stats on the local table
 SELECT * FROM _timescaledb_internal.get_chunk_relstats('disttable');
  chunk_id | hypertable_id | num_pages | num_tuples | num_allvisible 
@@ -292,12 +287,7 @@ ORDER BY 1,2,3;
 (0 rows)
 
 -- Run ANALYZE on data node 1
-SELECT * FROM distributed_exec('ANALYZE disttable', '{ "data_node_1" }');
- distributed_exec 
-------------------
- 
-(1 row)
-
+CALL distributed_exec('ANALYZE disttable', '{ "data_node_1" }');
 -- Stats should now be refreshed after running get_chunk_{col,rel}stats
 SELECT relname, reltuples, relpages, relallvisible FROM pg_class WHERE relname IN
 (SELECT (_timescaledb_internal.show_chunk(show_chunks)).table_name
diff --git a/tsl/test/expected/chunk_api-12.out b/tsl/test/expected/chunk_api-12.out
index 819045504..957cd9a12 100644
--- a/tsl/test/expected/chunk_api-12.out
+++ b/tsl/test/expected/chunk_api-12.out
@@ -254,12 +254,7 @@ INSERT INTO disttable VALUES ('2018-01-01 05:00:00-8', 1, 23.4, 'green'),
                              ('2018-01-01 06:00:00-8', 4, 22.3, NULL),
                              ('2018-01-01 06:00:00-8', 1, 21.1, 'green');
 -- Make sure we get deterministic behavior across all nodes
-SELECT distributed_exec($$ SELECT setseed(1); $$);
- distributed_exec 
-------------------
- 
-(1 row)
-
+CALL distributed_exec($$ SELECT setseed(1); $$);
 -- No stats on the local table
 SELECT * FROM _timescaledb_internal.get_chunk_relstats('disttable');
  chunk_id | hypertable_id | num_pages | num_tuples | num_allvisible 
@@ -292,12 +287,7 @@ ORDER BY 1,2,3;
 (0 rows)
 
 -- Run ANALYZE on data node 1
-SELECT * FROM distributed_exec('ANALYZE disttable', '{ "data_node_1" }');
- distributed_exec 
-------------------
- 
-(1 row)
-
+CALL distributed_exec('ANALYZE disttable', '{ "data_node_1" }');
 -- Stats should now be refreshed after running get_chunk_{col,rel}stats
 SELECT relname, reltuples, relpages, relallvisible FROM pg_class WHERE relname IN
 (SELECT (_timescaledb_internal.show_chunk(show_chunks)).table_name
diff --git a/tsl/test/expected/dist_commands.out b/tsl/test/expected/dist_commands.out
index bf2869a65..e41372847 100644
--- a/tsl/test/expected/dist_commands.out
+++ b/tsl/test/expected/dist_commands.out
@@ -219,25 +219,10 @@ t
 
 -- Test distributed_exec()
 -- Make sure dist session is properly set
-SELECT * FROM distributed_exec('DO $$ BEGIN ASSERT(SELECT is_frontend_session()) = true; END; $$;');
- distributed_exec 
-------------------
- 
-(1 row)
-
+CALL distributed_exec('DO $$ BEGIN ASSERT(SELECT is_frontend_session()) = true; END; $$;');
 -- Test creating and dropping a table
-SELECT * FROM distributed_exec('CREATE TABLE dist_test (id int)');
- distributed_exec 
-------------------
- 
-(1 row)
-
-SELECT * FROM distributed_exec('INSERT INTO dist_test values (7)');
- distributed_exec 
-------------------
- 
-(1 row)
-
+CALL distributed_exec('CREATE TABLE dist_test (id int)');
+CALL distributed_exec('INSERT INTO dist_test values (7)');
 SELECT * FROM test.remote_exec(NULL, $$ SELECT * from dist_test; $$);
 NOTICE:  [data_node_1]:  SELECT * from dist_test
 NOTICE:  [data_node_1]:
@@ -268,14 +253,9 @@ id
  
 (1 row)
 
-SELECT * FROM distributed_exec('DROP TABLE dist_test');
- distributed_exec 
-------------------
- 
-(1 row)
-
+CALL distributed_exec('DROP TABLE dist_test');
 \set ON_ERROR_STOP 0
-SELECT * FROM distributed_exec('INSERT INTO dist_test VALUES (8)', '{data_node_1}');
+CALL distributed_exec('INSERT INTO dist_test VALUES (8)', '{data_node_1}');
 ERROR:  [data_node_1]: relation "dist_test" does not exist
 \set ON_ERROR_STOP 1
 -- Test creating and dropping a role
@@ -283,7 +263,7 @@ CREATE ROLE dist_test_role;
 -- Expect this to be an error, since data nodes are created on the same instance
 \set ON_ERROR_STOP 0
 SELECT test.execute_sql_and_filter_data_node_name_on_error($$
-SELECT * FROM distributed_exec('CREATE ROLE dist_test_role');
+CALL distributed_exec('CREATE ROLE dist_test_role');
 $$);
 ERROR:  [data_node_x]: role "dist_test_role" already exists
 \set ON_ERROR_STOP 1
@@ -320,17 +300,35 @@ t
 DROP ROLE DIST_TEST_ROLE;
 \set ON_ERROR_STOP 0
 SELECT test.execute_sql_and_filter_data_node_name_on_error($$
-SELECT * FROM distributed_exec('DROP ROLE dist_test_role');
+CALL distributed_exec('DROP ROLE dist_test_role');
 $$);
 ERROR:  [data_node_x]: role "dist_test_role" does not exist
 \set ON_ERROR_STOP 1
 -- Do not allow to run distributed_exec() on a data nodes
 \c data_node_1
 \set ON_ERROR_STOP 0
-SELECT * FROM distributed_exec('SELECT 1');
+CALL distributed_exec('SELECT 1');
 ERROR:  function must be run on the access node only
 \set ON_ERROR_STOP 1
 \c :TEST_DBNAME :ROLE_SUPERUSER
+SELECT * FROM delete_data_node('data_node_1');
+ delete_data_node 
+------------------
+ t
+(1 row)
+
+SELECT * FROM delete_data_node('data_node_2');
+ delete_data_node 
+------------------
+ t
+(1 row)
+
+SELECT * FROM delete_data_node('data_node_3');
+ delete_data_node 
+------------------
+ t
+(1 row)
+
 DROP DATABASE data_node_1;
 DROP DATABASE data_node_2;
 DROP DATABASE data_node_3;
@@ -344,3 +342,143 @@ ERROR:  data node "myserver" is not a TimescaleDB server
 \set ON_ERROR_STOP 1
 DROP SERVER myserver;
 DROP EXTENSION postgres_fdw;
+-- Test that transactional behaviour is the default and that it can be
+-- disabled.
+--
+-- In this case, we only execute it on one data node since we are
+-- creating a database and multiple creations of the database would
+-- clash when executed on the same instace.
+--
+-- We prefix the database names with the test file to be able to
+-- parallelize the test. Not possible right now because there are
+-- other databases above that prevents this.
+\c :TEST_DBNAME :ROLE_SUPERUSER
+SELECT * FROM add_data_node('dist_commands_1', host => 'localhost',
+                            database => 'dist_commands_1');
+    node_name    |   host    | port  |    database     | node_created | database_created | extension_created 
+-----------------+-----------+-------+-----------------+--------------+------------------+-------------------
+ dist_commands_1 | localhost | 55432 | dist_commands_1 | t            | t                | t
+(1 row)
+
+SELECT * FROM add_data_node('dist_commands_2', host => 'localhost',
+                            database => 'dist_commands_2');
+    node_name    |   host    | port  |    database     | node_created | database_created | extension_created 
+-----------------+-----------+-------+-----------------+--------------+------------------+-------------------
+ dist_commands_2 | localhost | 55432 | dist_commands_2 | t            | t                | t
+(1 row)
+
+GRANT USAGE ON FOREIGN SERVER dist_commands_1, dist_commands_2 TO PUBLIC;
+\set ON_ERROR_STOP 0
+CALL distributed_exec('CREATE DATABASE dist_commands_magic',
+       node_list => '{dist_commands_1}');
+ERROR:  [dist_commands_1]: CREATE DATABASE cannot run inside a transaction block
+\set ON_ERROR_STOP 1
+CALL distributed_exec('CREATE DATABASE dist_commands_magic',
+       node_list => '{dist_commands_1}', transactional => FALSE);
+DROP DATABASE dist_commands_magic;
+-- Test that distributed_exec honor the 2PC behaviour when starting a
+-- transaction locally. It should also give an error if attempting to
+-- execute non-transactionally inside a local transaction.
+-- To test that distributed_exec honors transactions, we create a
+-- table on both data nodes, and then tweak one of the tables so that
+-- we get a duplicate key when updating the table on both data
+-- nodes. This should then abort the transaction on all data nodes.
+\c :TEST_DBNAME :ROLE_1
+CALL distributed_exec($$
+  CREATE TABLE my_table (key INT, value TEXT, PRIMARY KEY (key));
+$$);
+\c dist_commands_1
+INSERT INTO my_table VALUES (1, 'foo');
+\c :TEST_DBNAME :ROLE_1
+\set ON_ERROR_STOP 0
+BEGIN;
+CALL distributed_exec($$ INSERT INTO my_table VALUES (1, 'bar') $$);
+ERROR:  [dist_commands_1]: duplicate key value violates unique constraint "my_table_pkey"
+COMMIT;
+\set ON_ERROR_STOP 1
+-- No changes should be there
+SELECT * FROM test.remote_exec(NULL, $$ SELECT * FROM my_table; $$);
+NOTICE:  [dist_commands_1]:  SELECT * FROM my_table
+NOTICE:  [dist_commands_1]:
+key|value
+---+-----
+  1|foo  
+(1 row)
+
+
+NOTICE:  [dist_commands_2]:  SELECT * FROM my_table
+NOTICE:  [dist_commands_2]:
+key|value
+---+-----
+(0 rows)
+
+
+ remote_exec 
+-------------
+ 
+(1 row)
+
+-- This should work.
+BEGIN;
+CALL distributed_exec($$ INSERT INTO my_table VALUES (2, 'bar'); $$);
+COMMIT;
+-- We should see changes
+SELECT * FROM test.remote_exec(NULL, $$ SELECT * FROM my_table; $$);
+NOTICE:  [dist_commands_1]:  SELECT * FROM my_table
+NOTICE:  [dist_commands_1]:
+key|value
+---+-----
+  1|foo  
+  2|bar  
+(2 rows)
+
+
+NOTICE:  [dist_commands_2]:  SELECT * FROM my_table
+NOTICE:  [dist_commands_2]:
+key|value
+---+-----
+  2|bar  
+(1 row)
+
+
+ remote_exec 
+-------------
+ 
+(1 row)
+
+-- This should fail since we are inside a transaction and asking for
+-- transactional execution on the remote nodes. Non-transactional
+-- execution should be outside transactions.
+\set ON_ERROR_STOP 0
+BEGIN;
+CALL distributed_exec(
+     $$ INSERT INTO my_table VALUES (3, 'baz') $$,
+     transactional => FALSE
+);
+ERROR:  distributed_exec cannot run inside a transaction block
+COMMIT;
+\set ON_ERROR_STOP 1
+-- We should see no changes
+SELECT * FROM test.remote_exec(NULL, $$ SELECT * FROM my_table; $$);
+NOTICE:  [dist_commands_1]:  SELECT * FROM my_table
+NOTICE:  [dist_commands_1]:
+key|value
+---+-----
+  1|foo  
+  2|bar  
+(2 rows)
+
+
+NOTICE:  [dist_commands_2]:  SELECT * FROM my_table
+NOTICE:  [dist_commands_2]:
+key|value
+---+-----
+  2|bar  
+(1 row)
+
+
+ remote_exec 
+-------------
+ 
+(1 row)
+
diff --git a/tsl/test/expected/dist_ddl.out b/tsl/test/expected/dist_ddl.out
index a1c1b4a91..7f3439f42 100644
--- a/tsl/test/expected/dist_ddl.out
+++ b/tsl/test/expected/dist_ddl.out
@@ -36,18 +36,8 @@ SELECT * FROM add_data_node('data_node_3', host => 'localhost',
 
 GRANT USAGE ON FOREIGN SERVER data_node_1, data_node_2, data_node_3 TO PUBLIC;
 -- Presence of non-distributed hypertables on data nodes should not cause issues
-SELECT distributed_exec('CREATE TABLE local(time timestamptz, measure int)', '{ "data_node_1", "data_node_3" }');
- distributed_exec 
-------------------
- 
-(1 row)
-
-SELECT distributed_exec($$ SELECT create_hypertable('local', 'time') $$, '{ "data_node_1", "data_node_3" }');
- distributed_exec 
-------------------
- 
-(1 row)
-
+CALL distributed_exec('CREATE TABLE local(time timestamptz, measure int)', '{ "data_node_1", "data_node_3" }');
+CALL distributed_exec($$ SELECT create_hypertable('local', 'time') $$, '{ "data_node_1", "data_node_3" }');
 -- Import testsupport.sql file to data nodes
 \unset ECHO
 -- This SCHEMA will not be created on data nodes
diff --git a/tsl/test/expected/dist_hypertable-11.out b/tsl/test/expected/dist_hypertable-11.out
index 101e828c8..36a677c56 100644
--- a/tsl/test/expected/dist_hypertable-11.out
+++ b/tsl/test/expected/dist_hypertable-11.out
@@ -3048,14 +3048,9 @@ SELECT * FROM set_number_partitions('disttable', 3);
 (1 row)
 
 CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION dummy_now() RETURNS BIGINT LANGUAGE SQL IMMUTABLE as  'SELECT 2::BIGINT';
-SELECT * FROM distributed_exec($$
+CALL distributed_exec($$
 CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION dummy_now() RETURNS BIGINT LANGUAGE SQL IMMUTABLE as  'SELECT 2::BIGINT'
 $$);
- distributed_exec 
-------------------
- 
-(1 row)
-
 SELECT * FROM set_integer_now_func('disttable', 'dummy_now');
  set_integer_now_func 
 ----------------------
@@ -3131,14 +3126,9 @@ NOTICE:  adding not-null constraint to column "time"
 (1 row)
 
 -- Ensure that table is created on the data nodes without a tablespace
-SELECT * FROM distributed_exec($$
+CALL distributed_exec($$
 SELECT * FROM show_tablespaces('disttable2');
 $$);
- distributed_exec 
-------------------
- 
-(1 row)
-
 INSERT INTO disttable2 VALUES ('2017-01-01 06:01', 1, 1.1);
 SELECT * FROM show_chunks('disttable2');
                   show_chunks                  
@@ -3173,38 +3163,18 @@ SELECT * FROM show_tablespaces('disttable2');
 (0 rows)
 
 -- Ensure tablespace API works for data nodes
-SELECT * FROM distributed_exec($$
+CALL distributed_exec($$
 SELECT attach_tablespace('tablespace2', 'disttable2');
 $$);
- distributed_exec 
-------------------
- 
-(1 row)
-
-SELECT * FROM distributed_exec($$
+CALL distributed_exec($$
 SELECT detach_tablespace('tablespace2', 'disttable2');
 $$);
- distributed_exec 
-------------------
- 
-(1 row)
-
-SELECT * FROM distributed_exec($$
+CALL distributed_exec($$
 SELECT attach_tablespace('tablespace2', 'disttable2');
 $$);
- distributed_exec 
-------------------
- 
-(1 row)
-
-SELECT * FROM distributed_exec($$
+CALL distributed_exec($$
 SELECT detach_tablespaces('disttable2');
 $$);
- distributed_exec 
-------------------
- 
-(1 row)
-
 DROP TABLE disttable2;
 CREATE TABLE disttable2(time timestamptz, device int, temp float) TABLESPACE tablespace1;
 SELECT create_hypertable('disttable2', 'time', chunk_time_interval => 1000000::bigint, replication_factor => 1);
@@ -3215,14 +3185,9 @@ NOTICE:  adding not-null constraint to column "time"
 (1 row)
 
 -- Ensure that table is created on the data nodes without a tablespace
-SELECT * FROM distributed_exec($$
+CALL distributed_exec($$
 SELECT * FROM show_tablespaces('disttable2');
 $$);
- distributed_exec 
-------------------
- 
-(1 row)
-
 INSERT INTO disttable2 VALUES ('2017-01-01 06:01', 1, 1.1);
 SELECT * FROM show_chunks('disttable2');
                   show_chunks                  
@@ -3376,25 +3341,15 @@ CREATE TABLE devices (
        device_id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY,
        device_name VARCHAR(10)
 );
-SELECT * FROM distributed_exec($$
+CALL distributed_exec($$
   CREATE TABLE devices(device_id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY, device_name VARCHAR(10))
 $$);
- distributed_exec 
-------------------
- 
-(1 row)
-
 INSERT INTO devices VALUES
   (1, 'A001'), (2, 'B015'), (3, 'D821'), (4, 'C561'), (5, 'D765');
-SELECT * FROM distributed_exec($$
+CALL distributed_exec($$
   INSERT INTO devices VALUES
     (1, 'A001'), (2, 'B015'), (3, 'D821'), (4, 'C561'), (5, 'D765')
 $$);
- distributed_exec 
-------------------
- 
-(1 row)
-
 CREATE TABLE hyper (
   time TIMESTAMPTZ NOT NULL,
   device INTEGER REFERENCES devices(device_id),
@@ -3710,14 +3665,9 @@ SELECT * FROM set_replication_factor('hyper', replication_factor => 4);
 ERROR:  too big replication factor for hypertable "hyper"
 \set ON_ERROR_STOP 1
 DROP TABLE hyper;
-SELECT * FROM distributed_exec($$
+CALL distributed_exec($$
     DROP TABLE devices;
 $$);
- distributed_exec 
-------------------
- 
-(1 row)
-
 DROP TABLE devices;
 -- Test storage options are distributed to data nodes
 --
diff --git a/tsl/test/expected/dist_hypertable-12.out b/tsl/test/expected/dist_hypertable-12.out
index e2aa28ad4..06110becc 100644
--- a/tsl/test/expected/dist_hypertable-12.out
+++ b/tsl/test/expected/dist_hypertable-12.out
@@ -3029,14 +3029,9 @@ SELECT * FROM set_number_partitions('disttable', 3);
 (1 row)
 
 CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION dummy_now() RETURNS BIGINT LANGUAGE SQL IMMUTABLE as  'SELECT 2::BIGINT';
-SELECT * FROM distributed_exec($$
+CALL distributed_exec($$
 CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION dummy_now() RETURNS BIGINT LANGUAGE SQL IMMUTABLE as  'SELECT 2::BIGINT'
 $$);
- distributed_exec 
-------------------
- 
-(1 row)
-
 SELECT * FROM set_integer_now_func('disttable', 'dummy_now');
  set_integer_now_func 
 ----------------------
@@ -3112,14 +3107,9 @@ NOTICE:  adding not-null constraint to column "time"
 (1 row)
 
 -- Ensure that table is created on the data nodes without a tablespace
-SELECT * FROM distributed_exec($$
+CALL distributed_exec($$
 SELECT * FROM show_tablespaces('disttable2');
 $$);
- distributed_exec 
-------------------
- 
-(1 row)
-
 INSERT INTO disttable2 VALUES ('2017-01-01 06:01', 1, 1.1);
 SELECT * FROM show_chunks('disttable2');
                   show_chunks                  
@@ -3154,38 +3144,18 @@ SELECT * FROM show_tablespaces('disttable2');
 (0 rows)
 
 -- Ensure tablespace API works for data nodes
-SELECT * FROM distributed_exec($$
+CALL distributed_exec($$
 SELECT attach_tablespace('tablespace2', 'disttable2');
 $$);
- distributed_exec 
-------------------
- 
-(1 row)
-
-SELECT * FROM distributed_exec($$
+CALL distributed_exec($$
 SELECT detach_tablespace('tablespace2', 'disttable2');
 $$);
- distributed_exec 
-------------------
- 
-(1 row)
-
-SELECT * FROM distributed_exec($$
+CALL distributed_exec($$
 SELECT attach_tablespace('tablespace2', 'disttable2');
 $$);
- distributed_exec 
-------------------
- 
-(1 row)
-
-SELECT * FROM distributed_exec($$
+CALL distributed_exec($$
 SELECT detach_tablespaces('disttable2');
 $$);
- distributed_exec 
-------------------
- 
-(1 row)
-
 DROP TABLE disttable2;
 CREATE TABLE disttable2(time timestamptz, device int, temp float) TABLESPACE tablespace1;
 SELECT create_hypertable('disttable2', 'time', chunk_time_interval => 1000000::bigint, replication_factor => 1);
@@ -3196,14 +3166,9 @@ NOTICE:  adding not-null constraint to column "time"
 (1 row)
 
 -- Ensure that table is created on the data nodes without a tablespace
-SELECT * FROM distributed_exec($$
+CALL distributed_exec($$
 SELECT * FROM show_tablespaces('disttable2');
 $$);
- distributed_exec 
-------------------
- 
-(1 row)
-
 INSERT INTO disttable2 VALUES ('2017-01-01 06:01', 1, 1.1);
 SELECT * FROM show_chunks('disttable2');
                   show_chunks                  
@@ -3356,25 +3321,15 @@ CREATE TABLE devices (
        device_id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY,
        device_name VARCHAR(10)
 );
-SELECT * FROM distributed_exec($$
+CALL distributed_exec($$
   CREATE TABLE devices(device_id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY, device_name VARCHAR(10))
 $$);
- distributed_exec 
-------------------
- 
-(1 row)
-
 INSERT INTO devices VALUES
   (1, 'A001'), (2, 'B015'), (3, 'D821'), (4, 'C561'), (5, 'D765');
-SELECT * FROM distributed_exec($$
+CALL distributed_exec($$
   INSERT INTO devices VALUES
     (1, 'A001'), (2, 'B015'), (3, 'D821'), (4, 'C561'), (5, 'D765')
 $$);
- distributed_exec 
-------------------
- 
-(1 row)
-
 CREATE TABLE hyper (
   time TIMESTAMPTZ NOT NULL,
   device INTEGER REFERENCES devices(device_id),
@@ -3690,14 +3645,9 @@ SELECT * FROM set_replication_factor('hyper', replication_factor => 4);
 ERROR:  too big replication factor for hypertable "hyper"
 \set ON_ERROR_STOP 1
 DROP TABLE hyper;
-SELECT * FROM distributed_exec($$
+CALL distributed_exec($$
     DROP TABLE devices;
 $$);
- distributed_exec 
-------------------
- 
-(1 row)
-
 DROP TABLE devices;
 -- Test storage options are distributed to data nodes
 --
diff --git a/tsl/test/expected/dist_query-11.out b/tsl/test/expected/dist_query-11.out
index 6f6bbdacc..29b69633f 100644
--- a/tsl/test/expected/dist_query-11.out
+++ b/tsl/test/expected/dist_query-11.out
@@ -145,12 +145,7 @@ CREATE AGGREGATE custom_sum(int4) (
     STYPE = int8
 );
 -- Set seed on all data nodes for ANALYZE to sample consistently
-SELECT distributed_exec($$ SELECT setseed(1); $$);
- distributed_exec 
-------------------
- 
-(1 row)
-
+CALL distributed_exec($$ SELECT setseed(1); $$);
 ANALYZE reference;
 ANALYZE hyper;
 ANALYZE hyper1d;
diff --git a/tsl/test/expected/dist_query-12.out b/tsl/test/expected/dist_query-12.out
index 44175af74..dcb4be4e8 100644
--- a/tsl/test/expected/dist_query-12.out
+++ b/tsl/test/expected/dist_query-12.out
@@ -145,12 +145,7 @@ CREATE AGGREGATE custom_sum(int4) (
     STYPE = int8
 );
 -- Set seed on all data nodes for ANALYZE to sample consistently
-SELECT distributed_exec($$ SELECT setseed(1); $$);
- distributed_exec 
-------------------
- 
-(1 row)
-
+CALL distributed_exec($$ SELECT setseed(1); $$);
 ANALYZE reference;
 ANALYZE hyper;
 ANALYZE hyper1d;
diff --git a/tsl/test/sql/chunk_api.sql.in b/tsl/test/sql/chunk_api.sql.in
index 05c92775c..6401aec41 100644
--- a/tsl/test/sql/chunk_api.sql.in
+++ b/tsl/test/sql/chunk_api.sql.in
@@ -134,7 +134,7 @@ INSERT INTO disttable VALUES ('2018-01-01 05:00:00-8', 1, 23.4, 'green'),
                              ('2018-01-01 06:00:00-8', 1, 21.1, 'green');
 
 -- Make sure we get deterministic behavior across all nodes
-SELECT distributed_exec($$ SELECT setseed(1); $$);
+CALL distributed_exec($$ SELECT setseed(1); $$);
 
 -- No stats on the local table
 SELECT * FROM _timescaledb_internal.get_chunk_relstats('disttable');
@@ -150,7 +150,7 @@ SELECT * FROM pg_stats WHERE tablename IN
 ORDER BY 1,2,3;
 
 -- Run ANALYZE on data node 1
-SELECT * FROM distributed_exec('ANALYZE disttable', '{ "data_node_1" }');
+CALL distributed_exec('ANALYZE disttable', '{ "data_node_1" }');
 
 -- Stats should now be refreshed after running get_chunk_{col,rel}stats
 SELECT relname, reltuples, relpages, relallvisible FROM pg_class WHERE relname IN
diff --git a/tsl/test/sql/dist_commands.sql b/tsl/test/sql/dist_commands.sql
index 633a9253f..9833649a2 100644
--- a/tsl/test/sql/dist_commands.sql
+++ b/tsl/test/sql/dist_commands.sql
@@ -114,15 +114,15 @@ SELECT * FROM test.remote_exec(NULL, $$ SELECT is_frontend_session(); $$);
 -- Test distributed_exec()
 
 -- Make sure dist session is properly set
-SELECT * FROM distributed_exec('DO $$ BEGIN ASSERT(SELECT is_frontend_session()) = true; END; $$;');
+CALL distributed_exec('DO $$ BEGIN ASSERT(SELECT is_frontend_session()) = true; END; $$;');
 
 -- Test creating and dropping a table
-SELECT * FROM distributed_exec('CREATE TABLE dist_test (id int)');
-SELECT * FROM distributed_exec('INSERT INTO dist_test values (7)');
+CALL distributed_exec('CREATE TABLE dist_test (id int)');
+CALL distributed_exec('INSERT INTO dist_test values (7)');
 SELECT * FROM test.remote_exec(NULL, $$ SELECT * from dist_test; $$);
-SELECT * FROM distributed_exec('DROP TABLE dist_test');
+CALL distributed_exec('DROP TABLE dist_test');
 \set ON_ERROR_STOP 0
-SELECT * FROM distributed_exec('INSERT INTO dist_test VALUES (8)', '{data_node_1}');
+CALL distributed_exec('INSERT INTO dist_test VALUES (8)', '{data_node_1}');
 \set ON_ERROR_STOP 1
 
 -- Test creating and dropping a role
@@ -130,24 +130,27 @@ CREATE ROLE dist_test_role;
 -- Expect this to be an error, since data nodes are created on the same instance
 \set ON_ERROR_STOP 0
 SELECT test.execute_sql_and_filter_data_node_name_on_error($$
-SELECT * FROM distributed_exec('CREATE ROLE dist_test_role');
+CALL distributed_exec('CREATE ROLE dist_test_role');
 $$);
 \set ON_ERROR_STOP 1
 SELECT * FROM test.remote_exec(NULL, $$ SELECT true from pg_catalog.pg_roles WHERE rolname = 'dist_test_role'; $$);
 DROP ROLE DIST_TEST_ROLE;
 \set ON_ERROR_STOP 0
 SELECT test.execute_sql_and_filter_data_node_name_on_error($$
-SELECT * FROM distributed_exec('DROP ROLE dist_test_role');
+CALL distributed_exec('DROP ROLE dist_test_role');
 $$);
 \set ON_ERROR_STOP 1
 
 -- Do not allow to run distributed_exec() on a data nodes
 \c data_node_1
 \set ON_ERROR_STOP 0
-SELECT * FROM distributed_exec('SELECT 1');
+CALL distributed_exec('SELECT 1');
 \set ON_ERROR_STOP 1
 
 \c :TEST_DBNAME :ROLE_SUPERUSER
+SELECT * FROM delete_data_node('data_node_1');
+SELECT * FROM delete_data_node('data_node_2');
+SELECT * FROM delete_data_node('data_node_3');
 DROP DATABASE data_node_1;
 DROP DATABASE data_node_2;
 DROP DATABASE data_node_3;
@@ -161,3 +164,77 @@ SELECT * FROM test.remote_exec('{myserver}', $$ SELECT 1; $$);
 \set ON_ERROR_STOP 1
 DROP SERVER myserver;
 DROP EXTENSION postgres_fdw;
+
+-- Test that transactional behaviour is the default and that it can be
+-- disabled.
+--
+-- In this case, we only execute it on one data node since we are
+-- creating a database and multiple creations of the database would
+-- clash when executed on the same instace.
+--
+-- We prefix the database names with the test file to be able to
+-- parallelize the test. Not possible right now because there are
+-- other databases above that prevents this.
+\c :TEST_DBNAME :ROLE_SUPERUSER
+SELECT * FROM add_data_node('dist_commands_1', host => 'localhost',
+                            database => 'dist_commands_1');
+SELECT * FROM add_data_node('dist_commands_2', host => 'localhost',
+                            database => 'dist_commands_2');
+GRANT USAGE ON FOREIGN SERVER dist_commands_1, dist_commands_2 TO PUBLIC;
+
+\set ON_ERROR_STOP 0
+CALL distributed_exec('CREATE DATABASE dist_commands_magic',
+       node_list => '{dist_commands_1}');
+\set ON_ERROR_STOP 1
+CALL distributed_exec('CREATE DATABASE dist_commands_magic',
+       node_list => '{dist_commands_1}', transactional => FALSE);
+DROP DATABASE dist_commands_magic;
+
+-- Test that distributed_exec honor the 2PC behaviour when starting a
+-- transaction locally. It should also give an error if attempting to
+-- execute non-transactionally inside a local transaction.
+
+-- To test that distributed_exec honors transactions, we create a
+-- table on both data nodes, and then tweak one of the tables so that
+-- we get a duplicate key when updating the table on both data
+-- nodes. This should then abort the transaction on all data nodes.
+\c :TEST_DBNAME :ROLE_1
+CALL distributed_exec($$
+  CREATE TABLE my_table (key INT, value TEXT, PRIMARY KEY (key));
+$$);
+
+\c dist_commands_1
+INSERT INTO my_table VALUES (1, 'foo');
+
+\c :TEST_DBNAME :ROLE_1
+\set ON_ERROR_STOP 0
+BEGIN;
+CALL distributed_exec($$ INSERT INTO my_table VALUES (1, 'bar') $$);
+COMMIT;
+\set ON_ERROR_STOP 1
+
+-- No changes should be there
+SELECT * FROM test.remote_exec(NULL, $$ SELECT * FROM my_table; $$);
+
+-- This should work.
+BEGIN;
+CALL distributed_exec($$ INSERT INTO my_table VALUES (2, 'bar'); $$);
+COMMIT;
+
+-- We should see changes
+SELECT * FROM test.remote_exec(NULL, $$ SELECT * FROM my_table; $$);
+
+-- This should fail since we are inside a transaction and asking for
+-- transactional execution on the remote nodes. Non-transactional
+-- execution should be outside transactions.
+\set ON_ERROR_STOP 0
+BEGIN;
+CALL distributed_exec(
+     $$ INSERT INTO my_table VALUES (3, 'baz') $$,
+     transactional => FALSE
+);
+COMMIT;
+\set ON_ERROR_STOP 1
+
+-- We should see no changes
+SELECT * FROM test.remote_exec(NULL, $$ SELECT * FROM my_table; $$);
diff --git a/tsl/test/sql/dist_ddl.sql b/tsl/test/sql/dist_ddl.sql
index 963baf38b..18acae4a9 100644
--- a/tsl/test/sql/dist_ddl.sql
+++ b/tsl/test/sql/dist_ddl.sql
@@ -29,8 +29,8 @@ SELECT * FROM add_data_node('data_node_3', host => 'localhost',
 GRANT USAGE ON FOREIGN SERVER data_node_1, data_node_2, data_node_3 TO PUBLIC;
 
 -- Presence of non-distributed hypertables on data nodes should not cause issues
-SELECT distributed_exec('CREATE TABLE local(time timestamptz, measure int)', '{ "data_node_1", "data_node_3" }');
-SELECT distributed_exec($$ SELECT create_hypertable('local', 'time') $$, '{ "data_node_1", "data_node_3" }');
+CALL distributed_exec('CREATE TABLE local(time timestamptz, measure int)', '{ "data_node_1", "data_node_3" }');
+CALL distributed_exec($$ SELECT create_hypertable('local', 'time') $$, '{ "data_node_1", "data_node_3" }');
 
 -- Import testsupport.sql file to data nodes
 \unset ECHO
diff --git a/tsl/test/sql/dist_hypertable.sql.in b/tsl/test/sql/dist_hypertable.sql.in
index b74e35759..bf902c2c5 100644
--- a/tsl/test/sql/dist_hypertable.sql.in
+++ b/tsl/test/sql/dist_hypertable.sql.in
@@ -879,7 +879,7 @@ SELECT * FROM set_chunk_time_interval('disttable', 2000000000::bigint);
 SELECT * FROM set_number_partitions('disttable', 3);
 
 CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION dummy_now() RETURNS BIGINT LANGUAGE SQL IMMUTABLE as  'SELECT 2::BIGINT';
-SELECT * FROM distributed_exec($$
+CALL distributed_exec($$
 CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION dummy_now() RETURNS BIGINT LANGUAGE SQL IMMUTABLE as  'SELECT 2::BIGINT'
 $$);
 
@@ -906,7 +906,7 @@ CREATE TABLE disttable2(time timestamptz, device int, temp float) TABLESPACE tab
 SELECT create_distributed_hypertable('disttable2', 'time', chunk_time_interval => 1000000::bigint);
 
 -- Ensure that table is created on the data nodes without a tablespace
-SELECT * FROM distributed_exec($$
+CALL distributed_exec($$
 SELECT * FROM show_tablespaces('disttable2');
 $$);
 
@@ -927,16 +927,16 @@ SELECT detach_tablespaces('disttable2');
 SELECT * FROM show_tablespaces('disttable2');
 
 -- Ensure tablespace API works for data nodes
-SELECT * FROM distributed_exec($$
+CALL distributed_exec($$
 SELECT attach_tablespace('tablespace2', 'disttable2');
 $$);
-SELECT * FROM distributed_exec($$
+CALL distributed_exec($$
 SELECT detach_tablespace('tablespace2', 'disttable2');
 $$);
-SELECT * FROM distributed_exec($$
+CALL distributed_exec($$
 SELECT attach_tablespace('tablespace2', 'disttable2');
 $$);
-SELECT * FROM distributed_exec($$
+CALL distributed_exec($$
 SELECT detach_tablespaces('disttable2');
 $$);
 DROP TABLE disttable2;
@@ -945,7 +945,7 @@ CREATE TABLE disttable2(time timestamptz, device int, temp float) TABLESPACE tab
 SELECT create_hypertable('disttable2', 'time', chunk_time_interval => 1000000::bigint, replication_factor => 1);
 
 -- Ensure that table is created on the data nodes without a tablespace
-SELECT * FROM distributed_exec($$
+CALL distributed_exec($$
 SELECT * FROM show_tablespaces('disttable2');
 $$);
 
@@ -1036,14 +1036,14 @@ CREATE TABLE devices (
        device_name VARCHAR(10)
 );
 
-SELECT * FROM distributed_exec($$
+CALL distributed_exec($$
   CREATE TABLE devices(device_id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY, device_name VARCHAR(10))
 $$);
 
 INSERT INTO devices VALUES
   (1, 'A001'), (2, 'B015'), (3, 'D821'), (4, 'C561'), (5, 'D765');
 
-SELECT * FROM distributed_exec($$
+CALL distributed_exec($$
   INSERT INTO devices VALUES
     (1, 'A001'), (2, 'B015'), (3, 'D821'), (4, 'C561'), (5, 'D765')
 $$);
@@ -1134,7 +1134,7 @@ SELECT * FROM set_replication_factor('hyper', replication_factor => 4);
 \set ON_ERROR_STOP 1
 
 DROP TABLE hyper;
-SELECT * FROM distributed_exec($$
+CALL distributed_exec($$
     DROP TABLE devices;
 $$);
 DROP TABLE devices;
diff --git a/tsl/test/sql/include/dist_query_load.sql b/tsl/test/sql/include/dist_query_load.sql
index 5f14002be..07b8ecc93 100644
--- a/tsl/test/sql/include/dist_query_load.sql
+++ b/tsl/test/sql/include/dist_query_load.sql
@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ CREATE AGGREGATE custom_sum(int4) (
 );
 
 -- Set seed on all data nodes for ANALYZE to sample consistently
-SELECT distributed_exec($$ SELECT setseed(1); $$);
+CALL distributed_exec($$ SELECT setseed(1); $$);
 ANALYZE reference;
 ANALYZE hyper;
 ANALYZE hyper1d;