diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 1174b9123..58a89bf21 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 - The `overwrite_mappings` option, which sets the mappings in the config even if they already exist
 - Added support for multiple vaults (#128)
 - Added command to switch between vaults (#60)
+- Added configuration option `yaml_parser` (a string value of either "native" or "yq") to change the YAML parser.
 
 ### Fixed
 
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index bc2cd6c32..ec9be2602 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -63,6 +63,8 @@ Built for people who love the concept of Obsidian -- a simple, markdown-based no
 
 Search functionality (e.g. via the `:ObsidianSearch` and `:ObsidianQuickSwitch` commands) also requires [telescope.nvim](https://github.com/nvim-telescope/telescope.nvim) or one of the `fzf` alternatives (see [plugin dependencies](#plugin-dependencies) below).
 
+You may also want to install [`yq`](https://github.com/mikefarah/yq) for more robust frontmatter YAML parsing.
+
 ### Install and configure
 
 To configure obsidian.nvim you just need to call `require("obsidian").setup({ ... })` with the desired options.
@@ -304,6 +306,12 @@ This is a complete list of all of the options that can be passed to `require("ob
   -- or replacing the current buffer (default)
   -- Accepted values are "current", "hsplit" and "vsplit"
   open_notes_in = "current"
+
+  -- Optional, set the YAML parser to use. The valid options are:
+  --  * "native" - uses a pure Lua parser that's fast but not very robust.
+  --  * "yq" - uses the command-line tool yq (https://github.com/mikefarah/yq), which is more robust
+  --    but slower and needs to be installed separately.
+  yaml_parser = "native",
 }
 ```
 
diff --git a/lua/obsidian/config.lua b/lua/obsidian/config.lua
index 5ee94f2b8..7eea8f2ee 100644
--- a/lua/obsidian/config.lua
+++ b/lua/obsidian/config.lua
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ local config = {}
 ---@field sort_by string|?
 ---@field sort_reversed boolean|?
 ---@field open_notes_in "current"|"vsplit"|"hsplit"
+---@field yaml_parser string|?
 config.ClientOpts = {}
 
 ---Get defaults.
@@ -54,6 +55,7 @@ config.ClientOpts.default = function()
     sort_by = "modified",
     sort_reversed = true,
     open_notes_in = "current",
+    yaml_parser = "native",
   }
 end
 
diff --git a/lua/obsidian/init.lua b/lua/obsidian/init.lua
index 848a1cb5b..0bc1114f3 100644
--- a/lua/obsidian/init.lua
+++ b/lua/obsidian/init.lua
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ obsidian.VERSION = "1.14.2"
 obsidian.completion = require "obsidian.completion"
 obsidian.note = require "obsidian.note"
 obsidian.util = require "obsidian.util"
+obsidian.yaml = require "obsidian.yaml"
 obsidian.mapping = require "obsidian.mapping"
 obsidian.workspace = require "obsidian.workspace"
 
@@ -32,6 +33,9 @@ obsidian.new = function(opts)
   self.dir = Path:new(self.current_workspace.path)
   self.opts = opts
   self.backlinks_namespace = vim.api.nvim_create_namespace "ObsidianBacklinks"
+  if self.opts.yaml_parser ~= nil then
+    obsidian.yaml.set_parser(self.opts.yaml_parser)
+  end
 
   return self
 end
diff --git a/lua/obsidian/yaml/init.lua b/lua/obsidian/yaml/init.lua
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..0a3fa3384
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lua/obsidian/yaml/init.lua
@@ -0,0 +1,117 @@
+local util = require "obsidian.util"
+
+local yaml = {}
+
+yaml.parsers = {
+  ["native"] = require "obsidian.yaml.native",
+  ["yq"] = require "obsidian.yaml.yq",
+}
+
+---@return string
+local detect_parser = function()
+  if vim.fn.executable "yq" then
+    return "yq"
+  else
+    return "native"
+  end
+end
+
+yaml.parser = detect_parser()
+
+---Set the YAML parser to use.
+---@param parser string
+yaml.set_parser = function(parser)
+  yaml.parser = parser
+end
+
+---Reset to the default parser.
+yaml.reset_parser = function()
+  yaml.parser = detect_parser()
+end
+
+---Deserialize a YAML string.
+---@param str string
+---@return any
+yaml.loads = function(str)
+  return yaml.parsers[yaml.parser].loads(str)
+end
+
+---@return string[]
+local dumps
+dumps = function(x, indent, order)
+  local indent_str = string.rep(" ", indent)
+
+  if type(x) == "string" then
+    -- TODO: make this more robust
+    if string.match(x, "%w") then
+      return { indent_str .. x }
+    else
+      return { indent_str .. [["]] .. x .. [["]] }
+    end
+  end
+
+  if type(x) == "boolean" then
+    return { indent_str .. tostring(x) }
+  end
+
+  if type(x) == "number" then
+    return { indent_str .. tostring(x) }
+  end
+
+  if type(x) == "table" then
+    local out = {}
+
+    if util.is_array(x) then
+      for _, v in ipairs(x) do
+        local item_lines = dumps(v, indent + 2)
+        table.insert(out, indent_str .. "- " .. util.strip(item_lines[1]))
+        for i = 2, #item_lines do
+          table.insert(out, item_lines[i])
+        end
+      end
+    else
+      -- Gather and sort keys so we can keep the order deterministic.
+      local keys = {}
+      for k, _ in pairs(x) do
+        table.insert(keys, k)
+      end
+      table.sort(keys, order)
+      for _, k in ipairs(keys) do
+        local v = x[k]
+        if type(v) == "string" or type(v) == "boolean" or type(v) == "number" then
+          table.insert(out, indent_str .. tostring(k) .. ": " .. dumps(v, 0)[1])
+        elseif type(v) == "table" and util.table_length(v) == 0 then
+          table.insert(out, indent_str .. tostring(k) .. ": []")
+        else
+          local item_lines = dumps(v, indent + 2)
+          table.insert(out, indent_str .. tostring(k) .. ":")
+          for _, line in ipairs(item_lines) do
+            table.insert(out, line)
+          end
+        end
+      end
+    end
+
+    return out
+  end
+
+  error("Can't convert object with type " .. type(x) .. " to YAML")
+end
+
+---Dump an object to YAML lines.
+---@param x any
+---@param order function
+---@return string[]
+yaml.dumps_lines = function(x, order)
+  return dumps(x, 0, order)
+end
+
+---Dump an object to a YAML string.
+---@param x any
+---@param order function|?
+---@return string
+yaml.dumps = function(x, order)
+  return table.concat(dumps(x, 0, order), "\n")
+end
+
+return yaml
diff --git a/lua/obsidian/yaml.lua b/lua/obsidian/yaml/native.lua
similarity index 87%
rename from lua/obsidian/yaml.lua
rename to lua/obsidian/yaml/native.lua
index bf0390869..faf3e30aa 100644
--- a/lua/obsidian/yaml.lua
+++ b/lua/obsidian/yaml/native.lua
@@ -1,7 +1,5 @@
 ---Adapted from https://github.com/exosite/lua-yaml.git
 
-local util = require "obsidian.util"
-
 local Parser = {}
 
 function Parser.new(self, tokens)
@@ -590,78 +588,4 @@ yaml.loads = function(str)
   return parser:parse()
 end
 
----@return string[]
-local dumps
-dumps = function(x, indent, order)
-  local indent_str = string.rep(" ", indent)
-
-  if type(x) == "string" then
-    -- TODO: handle double quotes in x
-    return { indent_str .. [["]] .. x .. [["]] }
-  end
-
-  if type(x) == "boolean" then
-    return { indent_str .. tostring(x) }
-  end
-
-  if type(x) == "number" then
-    return { indent_str .. tostring(x) }
-  end
-
-  if type(x) == "table" then
-    local out = {}
-
-    if util.is_array(x) then
-      for _, v in ipairs(x) do
-        local item_lines = dumps(v, indent + 2)
-        table.insert(out, indent_str .. "- " .. util.strip(item_lines[1]))
-        for i = 2, #item_lines do
-          table.insert(out, item_lines[i])
-        end
-      end
-    else
-      -- Gather and sort keys so we can keep the order deterministic.
-      local keys = {}
-      for k, _ in pairs(x) do
-        table.insert(keys, k)
-      end
-      table.sort(keys, order)
-      for _, k in ipairs(keys) do
-        local v = x[k]
-        if type(v) == "string" or type(v) == "boolean" or type(v) == "number" then
-          table.insert(out, indent_str .. tostring(k) .. ": " .. dumps(v, 0)[1])
-        elseif type(v) == "table" and util.table_length(v) == 0 then
-          table.insert(out, indent_str .. tostring(k) .. ": []")
-        else
-          local item_lines = dumps(v, indent + 2)
-          table.insert(out, indent_str .. tostring(k) .. ":")
-          for _, line in ipairs(item_lines) do
-            table.insert(out, line)
-          end
-        end
-      end
-    end
-
-    return out
-  end
-
-  error("Can't convert object with type " .. type(x) .. " to YAML")
-end
-
----Dump an object to YAML lines.
----@param x any
----@param order function
----@return string[]
-yaml.dumps_lines = function(x, order)
-  return dumps(x, 0, order)
-end
-
----Dump an object to a YAML string.
----@param x any
----@param order function|?
----@return string
-yaml.dumps = function(x, order)
-  return table.concat(dumps(x, 0, order), "\n")
-end
-
 return yaml
diff --git a/lua/obsidian/yaml/yq.lua b/lua/obsidian/yaml/yq.lua
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..7a3e0603e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lua/obsidian/yaml/yq.lua
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+local m = {}
+
+---@param str string
+---@return any
+m.loads = function(str)
+  local as_json = vim.fn.system("yq -o=json", str)
+  local data = vim.json.decode(as_json, { luanil = { object = true, array = true } })
+  return data
+end
+
+return m
diff --git a/test/obsidian/note_spec.lua b/test/obsidian/note_spec.lua
index 6dc932471..3971b5f08 100644
--- a/test/obsidian/note_spec.lua
+++ b/test/obsidian/note_spec.lua
@@ -70,11 +70,11 @@ describe("Note", function()
       table.concat(note:frontmatter_lines(), "\n"),
       table.concat({
         "---",
-        'id: "note_with_additional_metadata"',
+        "id: note_with_additional_metadata",
         "aliases:",
-        '  - "Note with additional metadata"',
+        "  - Note with additional metadata",
         "tags: []",
-        'foo: "bar"',
+        "foo: bar",
         "---",
       }, "\n")
     )
diff --git a/test/obsidian/yaml_spec.lua b/test/obsidian/yaml_spec.lua
index 22bb42053..ab91043bd 100644
--- a/test/obsidian/yaml_spec.lua
+++ b/test/obsidian/yaml_spec.lua
@@ -1,22 +1,23 @@
 local yaml = require "obsidian.yaml"
 
-describe("obsidian.yaml", function()
+describe("obsidian.yaml.dumps", function()
+  yaml.set_parser "native"
   it("should dump numbers", function()
     assert.equals(yaml.dumps(1), "1")
   end)
   it("should dump strings", function()
-    assert.equals(yaml.dumps "hi there", '"hi there"')
-    assert.equals(yaml.dumps "hi it's me", [["hi it's me"]])
-    assert.equals(yaml.dumps { foo = "bar" }, [[foo: "bar"]])
+    assert.equals(yaml.dumps "hi there", "hi there")
+    assert.equals(yaml.dumps "hi it's me", [[hi it's me]])
+    assert.equals(yaml.dumps { foo = "bar" }, [[foo: bar]])
   end)
   it("should dump strings with single quote", function()
-    assert.equals(yaml.dumps "hi it's me", [["hi it's me"]])
+    assert.equals(yaml.dumps "hi it's me", [[hi it's me]])
   end)
   it("should dump table with string values", function()
-    assert.equals(yaml.dumps { foo = "bar" }, [[foo: "bar"]])
+    assert.equals(yaml.dumps { foo = "bar" }, [[foo: bar]])
   end)
   it("should dump arrays with string values", function()
-    assert.equals(yaml.dumps { "foo", "bar" }, '- "foo"\n- "bar"')
+    assert.equals(yaml.dumps { "foo", "bar" }, "- foo\n- bar")
   end)
   it("should dump arrays with number values", function()
     assert.equals(yaml.dumps { 1, 2 }, "- 1\n- 2")
@@ -25,17 +26,88 @@ describe("obsidian.yaml", function()
     assert.equals(yaml.dumps { { a = 1 }, { b = 2 } }, "- a: 1\n- b: 2")
   end)
   it("should dump tables with string values", function()
-    assert.equals(yaml.dumps { a = "foo", b = "bar" }, 'a: "foo"\nb: "bar"')
+    assert.equals(yaml.dumps { a = "foo", b = "bar" }, "a: foo\nb: bar")
   end)
   it("should dump tables with number values", function()
     assert.equals(yaml.dumps { a = 1, b = 2 }, "a: 1\nb: 2")
   end)
   it("should dump tables with array values", function()
-    assert.equals(yaml.dumps { a = { "foo" }, b = { "bar" } }, 'a:\n  - "foo"\nb:\n  - "bar"')
+    assert.equals(yaml.dumps { a = { "foo" }, b = { "bar" } }, "a:\n  - foo\nb:\n  - bar")
   end)
   it("should dump tables with empty array", function()
     assert.equals(yaml.dumps { a = {} }, "a: []")
   end)
+end)
+
+describe("obsidian.yaml.native", function()
+  it("should parse inline lists with quotes on items", function()
+    local data = yaml.loads 'aliases: ["Foo", "Bar", "Foo Baz"]'
+    assert.equals(type(data), "table")
+    assert.equals(type(data.aliases), "table")
+    assert.equals(#data.aliases, 3)
+    assert.equals(data.aliases[3], "Foo Baz")
+
+    data = yaml.loads 'aliases: ["Foo"]'
+    assert.equals(type(data), "table")
+    assert.equals(type(data.aliases), "table")
+    assert.equals(#data.aliases, 1)
+    assert.equals(data.aliases[1], "Foo")
+
+    data = yaml.loads 'aliases: ["Foo Baz"]'
+    assert.equals(type(data), "table")
+    assert.equals(type(data.aliases), "table")
+    assert.equals(#data.aliases, 1)
+    assert.equals(data.aliases[1], "Foo Baz")
+  end)
+  it("should parse inline lists without quotes on items", function()
+    local data = yaml.loads "aliases: [Foo, Bar, Foo Baz]"
+    assert.equals(type(data), "table")
+    assert.equals(type(data.aliases), "table")
+    assert.equals(#data.aliases, 3)
+    assert.equals(data.aliases[3], "Foo Baz")
+
+    data = yaml.loads "aliases: [Foo]"
+    assert.equals(type(data), "table")
+    assert.equals(type(data.aliases), "table")
+    assert.equals(#data.aliases, 1)
+    assert.equals(data.aliases[1], "Foo")
+
+    data = yaml.loads "aliases: [Foo Baz]"
+    assert.equals(type(data), "table")
+    assert.equals(type(data.aliases), "table")
+    assert.equals(#data.aliases, 1)
+    assert.equals(data.aliases[1], "Foo Baz")
+  end)
+  it("should parse boolean field values", function()
+    local data = yaml.loads "complete: false"
+    assert.equals(type(data), "table")
+    assert.equals(type(data.complete), "boolean")
+  end)
+  it("should parse implicit null values", function()
+    local data = yaml.loads "tags: \ncomplete: false"
+    assert.equals(type(data), "table")
+    assert.equals(data.tags, nil)
+    assert.equals(data.complete, false)
+  end)
+end)
+
+describe("obsidian.yaml.yq", function()
+  yaml.set_parser "yq"
+  for key, data in pairs {
+    ["numbers"] = 1,
+    ["strings"] = "hi there",
+    ["strings with single quotes"] = "hi it's me",
+    ["tables with string values"] = { foo = "bar" },
+    ["arrays with string values"] = { "foo", "bar" },
+    ["arrays with number values"] = { 1, 2 },
+    ["arrays with table values"] = { { a = 1 }, { b = 2 } },
+    ["tables with number values"] = { a = 1 },
+    ["tables with an empty array"] = { a = {} },
+  } do
+    it("should dump/parse " .. key, function()
+      assert.are.same(yaml.loads(yaml.dumps(data)), data)
+    end)
+  end
   it("should parse inline lists with quotes on items", function()
     local data = yaml.loads 'aliases: ["Foo", "Bar", "Foo Baz"]'
     assert.equals(type(data), "table")
diff --git a/test_fixtures/notes/foo_bar.md b/test_fixtures/notes/foo_bar.md
index a69f75421..d99fada2e 100644
--- a/test_fixtures/notes/foo_bar.md
+++ b/test_fixtures/notes/foo_bar.md
@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
 ---
-id: "foo"
+id: foo
 aliases:
-  - "foo"
-  - "Foo"
-  - "Foo Bar"
+  - foo
+  - Foo
+  - Foo Bar
 tags: []
 ---
 
diff --git a/test_fixtures/notes/note_with_additional_metadata_saved.md b/test_fixtures/notes/note_with_additional_metadata_saved.md
index f6ef83c85..189b16963 100644
--- a/test_fixtures/notes/note_with_additional_metadata_saved.md
+++ b/test_fixtures/notes/note_with_additional_metadata_saved.md
@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
 ---
-id: "note_with_additional_metadata"
+id: note_with_additional_metadata
 aliases:
-  - "Note with additional metadata"
+  - Note with additional metadata
 tags: []
-foo: "bar"
+foo: bar
 ---
 
 # Note with additional metadata
diff --git a/test_fixtures/notes/note_without_frontmatter_saved.md b/test_fixtures/notes/note_without_frontmatter_saved.md
index 755a70262..6f7c2a5c0 100644
--- a/test_fixtures/notes/note_without_frontmatter_saved.md
+++ b/test_fixtures/notes/note_without_frontmatter_saved.md
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 ---
-id: "note_without_frontmatter"
+id: note_without_frontmatter
 aliases:
-  - "Hey there"
+  - Hey there
 tags: []
 ---