diff --git a/cogl/cogl-pipeline-layer-state.c b/cogl/cogl-pipeline-layer-state.c
index e6506a8ba..b9f51189b 100644
--- a/cogl/cogl-pipeline-layer-state.c
+++ b/cogl/cogl-pipeline-layer-state.c
@@ -323,6 +323,43 @@ cogl_pipeline_set_layer_texture (CoglPipeline *pipeline,
   _cogl_pipeline_set_layer_texture_data (pipeline, layer_index, texture);
 }
 
+void
+cogl_pipeline_set_layer_null_texture (CoglPipeline *pipeline,
+                                      int layer_index,
+                                      CoglTextureType texture_type)
+{
+  CoglContext *ctx = _cogl_context_get_default ();
+
+  /* Disallow setting texture types that aren't supported */
+  switch (texture_type)
+    {
+    case COGL_TEXTURE_TYPE_2D:
+      break;
+
+    case COGL_TEXTURE_TYPE_3D:
+      if (ctx->default_gl_texture_3d_tex == NULL)
+        {
+          g_warning ("The default 3D texture was set on a pipeline but "
+                     "3D textures are not supported");
+          texture_type = COGL_TEXTURE_TYPE_2D;
+          return;
+        }
+      break;
+
+    case COGL_TEXTURE_TYPE_RECTANGLE:
+      if (ctx->default_gl_texture_rect_tex == NULL)
+        {
+          g_warning ("The default rectangle texture was set on a pipeline but "
+                     "rectangle textures are not supported");
+          texture_type = COGL_TEXTURE_TYPE_2D;
+        }
+      break;
+    }
+
+  _cogl_pipeline_set_layer_texture_type (pipeline, layer_index, texture_type);
+  _cogl_pipeline_set_layer_texture_data (pipeline, layer_index, NULL);
+}
+
 void
 _cogl_pipeline_set_layer_wrap_modes (CoglPipeline        *pipeline,
                                      CoglPipelineLayer   *layer,
diff --git a/cogl/cogl-pipeline-layer-state.h b/cogl/cogl-pipeline-layer-state.h
index 7c6f7c2cd..b8dbef3d1 100644
--- a/cogl/cogl-pipeline-layer-state.h
+++ b/cogl/cogl-pipeline-layer-state.h
@@ -131,6 +131,13 @@ typedef enum {
  * The index values of multiple layers do not have to be consecutive; it is
  * only their relative order that is important.
  *
+ * The @texture parameter can also be %NULL in which case the pipeline
+ * will use a default white texture. The type of the default texture
+ * will be the same as whatever texture was last used for the pipeline
+ * or %COGL_TEXTURE_TYPE_2D if none has been specified yet. To
+ * explicitly specify the type of default texture required, use
+ * cogl_pipeline_set_layer_null_texture() instead.
+ *
  * <note>In the future, we may define other types of pipeline layers, such
  * as purely GLSL based layers.</note>
  *
@@ -142,6 +149,32 @@ cogl_pipeline_set_layer_texture (CoglPipeline *pipeline,
                                  int           layer_index,
                                  CoglTexture  *texture);
 
+/**
+ * cogl_pipeline_set_layer_null_texture:
+ * @pipeline: A #CoglPipeline
+ * @layer_index: The layer number to modify
+ * @texture_type: The type of the default texture to use
+ *
+ * Sets the texture for this layer to be the default texture for the
+ * given type. This is equivalent to calling
+ * cogl_pipeline_set_layer_texture() with %NULL for the texture
+ * argument except that you can also specify the type of default
+ * texture to use. The default texture is a 1x1 pixel white texture.
+ *
+ * This function is mostly useful if you want to create a base
+ * pipeline that you want to create multiple copies from using
+ * cogl_pipeline_copy(). In that case this function can be used to
+ * specify the texture type so that any pipeline copies can share the
+ * internal texture type state for efficiency.
+ *
+ * Since: 1.10
+ * Stability: unstable
+ */
+void
+cogl_pipeline_set_layer_null_texture (CoglPipeline *pipeline,
+                                      int layer_index,
+                                      CoglTextureType texure_type);
+
 /**
  * cogl_pipeline_get_layer_texture:
  * @pipeline: A #CoglPipeline object
diff --git a/doc/reference/cogl-2.0-experimental/cogl-2.0-experimental-sections.txt b/doc/reference/cogl-2.0-experimental/cogl-2.0-experimental-sections.txt
index 2c2b561f7..8f7d3d713 100644
--- a/doc/reference/cogl-2.0-experimental/cogl-2.0-experimental-sections.txt
+++ b/doc/reference/cogl-2.0-experimental/cogl-2.0-experimental-sections.txt
@@ -613,6 +613,7 @@ CoglWinding
 cogl_pipeline_set_front_face_winding
 
 cogl_pipeline_set_layer_texture
+cogl_pipeline_set_layer_null_texture
 cogl_pipeline_get_layer_texture
 CoglMaterialFilter
 cogl_pipeline_set_layer_filters