diff --git a/r/R/array.R b/r/R/array.R
index 109f6daaa2b..ca03d2b5b96 100644
--- a/r/R/array.R
+++ b/r/R/array.R
@@ -472,9 +472,13 @@ names.StructArray <- function(x, ...) StructType__field_names(x$type)
 #' @export
 dim.StructArray <- function(x, ...) c(length(x), x$type$num_fields)
 
+as_df.StructArray <- function(x, ...) {
+  as.vector(x)
+}
+
 #' @export
 as.data.frame.StructArray <- function(x, row.names = NULL, optional = FALSE, ...) {
-  as.vector(x)
+  as.data.frame(as_df(x), row.names = row.names, optional = optional, ...)
 }
 
 #' @rdname array
diff --git a/r/R/arrow-tabular.R b/r/R/arrow-tabular.R
index ae68cc2118f..9e5b3c4a1a4 100644
--- a/r/R/arrow-tabular.R
+++ b/r/R/arrow-tabular.R
@@ -93,6 +93,10 @@ ArrowTabular <- R6Class("ArrowTabular",
 
 #' @export
 as.data.frame.ArrowTabular <- function(x, row.names = NULL, optional = FALSE, ...) {
+  as.data.frame(as_df(x), row.names = row.names, optional = optional, ...)
+}
+
+as_df.ArrowTabular <- function(x, ...) {
   df <- x$to_data_frame()
   apply_arrow_r_metadata(df, x$metadata$r)
 }
@@ -259,3 +263,7 @@ na.omit.ArrowTabular <- function(object, ...) {
 
 #' @export
 na.exclude.ArrowTabular <- na.omit.ArrowTabular
+
+as_df <- function(x) {
+  UseMethod("as_df")
+}
diff --git a/r/R/csv.R b/r/R/csv.R
index 82243238662..237a2153e5b 100644
--- a/r/R/csv.R
+++ b/r/R/csv.R
@@ -248,7 +248,7 @@ read_delim_arrow <- function(file,
   }
 
   if (isTRUE(as_data_frame)) {
-    tab <- as.data.frame(tab)
+    tab <- as_df(tab)
   }
 
   tab
diff --git a/r/R/dataset.R b/r/R/dataset.R
index 30d3ed5ae15..fe9cdeba4ac 100644
--- a/r/R/dataset.R
+++ b/r/R/dataset.R
@@ -522,9 +522,13 @@ dim.Dataset <- function(x) c(x$num_rows, x$num_cols)
 #' @export
 c.Dataset <- function(...) Dataset$create(list(...))
 
+as_df.Dataset <- function(x, ...) {
+  collect.Dataset(x)
+}
+
 #' @export
 as.data.frame.Dataset <- function(x, row.names = NULL, optional = FALSE, ...) {
-  collect.Dataset(x)
+  as.data.frame(as_df(x), row.names = row.names, optional = optional, ...)
 }
 
 #' @export
diff --git a/r/R/dplyr-collect.R b/r/R/dplyr-collect.R
index 9205a31b14f..61db1d2a1bd 100644
--- a/r/R/dplyr-collect.R
+++ b/r/R/dplyr-collect.R
@@ -22,9 +22,10 @@ collect.arrow_dplyr_query <- function(x, as_data_frame = TRUE, ...) {
   out <- compute.arrow_dplyr_query(x)
   collect.ArrowTabular(out, as_data_frame)
 }
+
 collect.ArrowTabular <- function(x, as_data_frame = TRUE, ...) {
   if (as_data_frame) {
-    as.data.frame(x, ...)
+    as_df(x, ...)
   } else {
     x
   }
diff --git a/r/R/dplyr-glimpse.R b/r/R/dplyr-glimpse.R
index 8a70f4c5b7b..ff7a3ef2508 100644
--- a/r/R/dplyr-glimpse.R
+++ b/r/R/dplyr-glimpse.R
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ glimpse.ArrowTabular <- function(x,
   var_headings <- paste("$", center_pad(tickify(names(x)), var_types))
 
   # Assemble the data glimpse
-  df <- as.data.frame(head_tab)
+  df <- as_df(head_tab)
   formatted_data <- map_chr(df, function(.) {
     tryCatch(
       paste(pillar::format_glimpse(.), collapse = ", "),
diff --git a/r/R/dplyr.R b/r/R/dplyr.R
index 72e74809689..a52124befbb 100644
--- a/r/R/dplyr.R
+++ b/r/R/dplyr.R
@@ -216,6 +216,10 @@ unique.RecordBatchReader <- unique.arrow_dplyr_query
 
 #' @export
 as.data.frame.arrow_dplyr_query <- function(x, row.names = NULL, optional = FALSE, ...) {
+  as.data.frame(as_df(x), row.names = row.names, optional = optional, ...)
+}
+
+as_df.arrow_dplyr_query <- function(x, ...) {
   collect.arrow_dplyr_query(x, as_data_frame = TRUE, ...)
 }
 
diff --git a/r/R/feather.R b/r/R/feather.R
index 1488db29eb7..09b04a1f0a6 100644
--- a/r/R/feather.R
+++ b/r/R/feather.R
@@ -196,7 +196,7 @@ read_feather <- function(file, col_select = NULL, as_data_frame = TRUE, mmap = T
   )
 
   if (isTRUE(as_data_frame)) {
-    out <- as.data.frame(out)
+    out <- as_df(out)
   }
   out
 }
diff --git a/r/R/ipc-stream.R b/r/R/ipc-stream.R
index f0b4a6aae0e..59d690db5dc 100644
--- a/r/R/ipc-stream.R
+++ b/r/R/ipc-stream.R
@@ -106,7 +106,7 @@ read_ipc_stream <- function(file, as_data_frame = TRUE, ...) {
   # https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/ARROW-6830
   out <- RecordBatchStreamReader$create(file)$read_table()
   if (as_data_frame) {
-    out <- as.data.frame(out)
+    out <- as_df(out)
   }
   out
 }
diff --git a/r/R/json.R b/r/R/json.R
index cdbe850b32f..470b52f3f88 100644
--- a/r/R/json.R
+++ b/r/R/json.R
@@ -84,7 +84,7 @@ read_json_arrow <- function(file,
   }
 
   if (isTRUE(as_data_frame)) {
-    tab <- as.data.frame(tab)
+    tab <- as_df(tab)
   }
   tab
 }
diff --git a/r/R/parquet.R b/r/R/parquet.R
index f3d384e8c25..586f6cd3c88 100644
--- a/r/R/parquet.R
+++ b/r/R/parquet.R
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ read_parquet <- function(file,
   }
 
   if (as_data_frame) {
-    tab <- as.data.frame(tab)
+    tab <- as_df(tab)
   }
   tab
 }
diff --git a/r/R/record-batch-reader.R b/r/R/record-batch-reader.R
index 184a77df36b..88118a2f70a 100644
--- a/r/R/record-batch-reader.R
+++ b/r/R/record-batch-reader.R
@@ -129,7 +129,11 @@ dim.RecordBatchReader <- function(x) c(NA_integer_, length(x$schema))
 
 #' @export
 as.data.frame.RecordBatchReader <- function(x, row.names = NULL, optional = FALSE, ...) {
-  as.data.frame(x$read_table(), row.names = row.names, optional = optional, ...)
+  as.data.frame(as_df(x), row.names = row.names, optional = optional, ...)
+}
+
+as_df.RecordBatchReader <- function(x, ...){
+  x$read_table()
 }
 
 #' @export
diff --git a/r/R/schema.R b/r/R/schema.R
index 93e826eff28..39ffddfea83 100644
--- a/r/R/schema.R
+++ b/r/R/schema.R
@@ -386,5 +386,5 @@ as_schema.StructType <- function(x, ...) {
 
 #' @export
 as.data.frame.Schema <- function(x, row.names = NULL, optional = FALSE, ...) {
-  as.data.frame(Table__from_schema(x))
+  as.data.frame(Table__from_schema(x), row.names = row.names, optional = optional, ...)
 }
diff --git a/r/src/table.cpp b/r/src/table.cpp
index 498141cc2f2..04537000f5d 100644
--- a/r/src/table.cpp
+++ b/r/src/table.cpp
@@ -228,7 +228,8 @@ arrow::Status AddMetadataFromDots(SEXP lst, int num_fields,
   // "top level" attributes, only relevant if the first object is not named and a data
   // frame
   cpp11::strings names = Rf_getAttrib(lst, R_NamesSymbol);
-  if (names[0] == "" && Rf_inherits(VECTOR_ELT(lst, 0), "data.frame")) {
+  if (names[0] == "" && Rf_inherits(VECTOR_ELT(lst, 0), "data.frame") &&
+      Rf_xlength(lst) == 1) {
     SEXP top_level = metadata[0] = arrow_attributes(VECTOR_ELT(lst, 0), true);
     if (!Rf_isNull(top_level) && XLENGTH(top_level) > 0) {
       has_top_level_metadata = true;
diff --git a/r/tests/testthat/test-RecordBatch.R b/r/tests/testthat/test-RecordBatch.R
index 7e7084542d3..4198628986e 100644
--- a/r/tests/testthat/test-RecordBatch.R
+++ b/r/tests/testthat/test-RecordBatch.R
@@ -346,7 +346,7 @@ test_that("record_batch() handles data frame columns", {
       b = struct(x = int32(), y = int32())
     )
   )
-  out <- as.data.frame(batch)
+  out <- as_tibble(batch)
   expect_equal(out, tibble::tibble(a = 1:10, b = tib))
 
   # if not named, columns from tib are auto spliced
@@ -355,7 +355,7 @@ test_that("record_batch() handles data frame columns", {
     batch2$schema,
     schema(a = int32(), x = int32(), y = int32())
   )
-  out <- as.data.frame(batch2)
+  out <- as_tibble(batch2)
   expect_equal(out, tibble::tibble(a = 1:10, !!!tib))
 })
 
@@ -366,7 +366,7 @@ test_that("record_batch() handles data frame columns with schema spec", {
   schema <- schema(a = int32(), b = struct(x = int16(), y = float64()))
   batch <- record_batch(a = 1:10, b = tib, schema = schema)
   expect_equal(batch$schema, schema)
-  out <- as.data.frame(batch)
+  out <- as_tibble(batch)
   expect_equal(out, tibble::tibble(a = 1:10, b = tib_float))
 
   schema <- schema(a = int32(), b = struct(x = int16(), y = utf8()))
@@ -386,7 +386,7 @@ test_that("record_batch() auto splices (ARROW-5718)", {
   expect_equal(batch3, batch4)
   expect_equal(batch3$schema, schema(x = int32(), y = utf8(), z = int32()))
   expect_equal(
-    as.data.frame(batch3),
+    as_tibble(batch3),
     tibble::as_tibble(cbind(df, data.frame(z = 1:10)))
   )
 
@@ -395,7 +395,7 @@ test_that("record_batch() auto splices (ARROW-5718)", {
   batch6 <- record_batch(!!!df, schema = s)
   expect_equal(batch5, batch6)
   expect_equal(batch5$schema, s)
-  expect_equal(as.data.frame(batch5), df)
+  expect_equal(as_tibble(batch5), df)
 
   s2 <- schema(x = float64(), y = utf8(), z = int16())
   batch7 <- record_batch(df, z = 1:10, schema = s2)
@@ -403,7 +403,7 @@ test_that("record_batch() auto splices (ARROW-5718)", {
   expect_equal(batch7, batch8)
   expect_equal(batch7$schema, s2)
   expect_equal(
-    as.data.frame(batch7),
+    as_tibble(batch7),
     tibble::as_tibble(cbind(df, data.frame(z = 1:10)))
   )
 })
@@ -627,7 +627,7 @@ test_that("Handling string data with embedded nuls", {
   # altrep. Without it (i.e. 3.5.0 and below, the error would trigger immediately
   # on `as.vector()` where as with it, the error only happens on materialization)
   skip_on_r_older_than("3.6")
-  df <- as.data.frame(batch_with_nul)
+  df <- as_tibble(batch_with_nul)
 
   expect_error(
     df$b[],
@@ -648,7 +648,7 @@ test_that("Handling string data with embedded nuls", {
     suppressWarnings(
       expect_warning(
         expect_equal(
-          as.data.frame(batch_with_nul)$b,
+          as_tibble(batch_with_nul)$b,
           c("person", "woman", "man", "camera", "tv"),
           ignore_attr = TRUE
         ),
diff --git a/r/tests/testthat/test-Table.R b/r/tests/testthat/test-Table.R
index 817b645fad9..1dd1c1faf15 100644
--- a/r/tests/testthat/test-Table.R
+++ b/r/tests/testthat/test-Table.R
@@ -265,7 +265,7 @@ test_that("table() handles ... of arrays, chunked arrays, vectors", {
     tab$schema,
     schema(a = int32(), b = int32(), c = float64(), x = int32(), y = utf8())
   )
-  res <- as.data.frame(tab)
+  res <- as_tibble(tab)
   expect_equal(names(res), c("a", "b", "c", "x", "y"))
   expect_equal(
     res,
@@ -280,14 +280,14 @@ test_that("table() auto splices (ARROW-5718)", {
   tab2 <- Table$create(!!!df)
   expect_equal(tab1, tab2)
   expect_equal(tab1$schema, schema(x = int32(), y = utf8()))
-  expect_equal(as.data.frame(tab1), df)
+  expect_equal(as_tibble(tab1), df)
 
   s <- schema(x = float64(), y = utf8())
   tab3 <- Table$create(df, schema = s)
   tab4 <- Table$create(!!!df, schema = s)
   expect_equal(tab3, tab4)
   expect_equal(tab3$schema, s)
-  expect_equal(as.data.frame(tab3), df)
+  expect_equal(as_tibble(tab3), df)
 })
 
 test_that("Validation when creating table with schema (ARROW-10953)", {
@@ -366,7 +366,7 @@ test_that("Can create table with specific dictionary types", {
     expect_equal(sch, tab$schema)
     if (i != int64()) {
       # TODO: same downcast to int32 as we do for int64() type elsewhere
-      expect_identical(as.data.frame(tab), fact)
+      expect_identical(as_tibble(tab), fact)
     }
   }
 })
@@ -380,7 +380,7 @@ test_that("Table unifies dictionary on conversion back to R (ARROW-8374)", {
   res <- tibble::tibble(f = factor(c("a", "c", NA), levels = c("a", "b", "c", "d")))
   tab <- Table$create(b1, b2, b3, b4)
 
-  expect_identical(as.data.frame(tab), res)
+  expect_identical(as_tibble(tab), res)
 })
 
 test_that("Table$SelectColumns()", {
@@ -711,3 +711,24 @@ test_that("as_arrow_table() errors on data.frame with NULL names", {
   names(df) <- NULL
   expect_error(as_arrow_table(df), "Input data frame columns must be named")
 })
+
+test_that("as.data.frame() on an ArrowTabular object returns a vanilla data.frame and not a tibble", {
+  df <- data.frame(x = 1)
+  out1 <- as.data.frame(arrow::arrow_table(df, name = "1"))
+  out2 <- as.data.frame(arrow::arrow_table(name = "1", df))
+  out3 <- as.data.frame(arrow::arrow_table(df))
+
+  expect_s3_class(out1, "data.frame", exact = TRUE)
+  expect_s3_class(out2, "data.frame", exact = TRUE)
+  expect_s3_class(out3, "data.frame", exact = TRUE)
+})
+
+test_that("as_tibble.ArrowTabular retains groups", {
+  # calling as_tibble.default on ArrowTabular objects results in any grouping being dropped, which is why
+  # we need as_tibble.ArrowTabular
+  df <- data.frame(x = 1:4, y = c("a", "b"))
+  df_grouped <- dplyr::group_by(df, y)
+  arrow_grouped <- arrow_table(df_grouped)
+  expect_data_frame(arrow_grouped, df_grouped)
+
+})
diff --git a/r/tests/testthat/test-compute-aggregate.R b/r/tests/testthat/test-compute-aggregate.R
index 98face44ff9..a8de6bfc36c 100644
--- a/r/tests/testthat/test-compute-aggregate.R
+++ b/r/tests/testthat/test-compute-aggregate.R
@@ -368,7 +368,7 @@ test_that("is_in", {
 
 test_that("value_counts", {
   a <- Array$create(c(1, 4, 3, 1, 1, 3, 4))
-  result_df <- tibble::tibble(
+  result_df <- data.frame(
     values = c(1, 4, 3),
     counts = c(3L, 2L, 2L)
   )
diff --git a/r/tests/testthat/test-compute-sort.R b/r/tests/testthat/test-compute-sort.R
index f521efeddc5..0b2f6c2e6da 100644
--- a/r/tests/testthat/test-compute-sort.R
+++ b/r/tests/testthat/test-compute-sort.R
@@ -141,7 +141,7 @@ test_that("Table$SortIndices()", {
     sort(tbl$chr, na.last = TRUE)
   )
   expect_identical(
-    as.data.frame(x$Take(x$SortIndices(c("int", "dbl"), c(FALSE, FALSE)))),
+    as_tibble(x$Take(x$SortIndices(c("int", "dbl"), c(FALSE, FALSE)))),
     tbl %>% arrange(int, dbl)
   )
 })
@@ -149,7 +149,7 @@ test_that("Table$SortIndices()", {
 test_that("RecordBatch$SortIndices()", {
   x <- record_batch(tbl)
   expect_identical(
-    as.data.frame(x$Take(x$SortIndices(c("chr", "int", "dbl"), TRUE))),
+    as_tibble(x$Take(x$SortIndices(c("chr", "int", "dbl"), TRUE))),
     tbl %>% arrange(desc(chr), desc(int), desc(dbl))
   )
 })
diff --git a/r/tests/testthat/test-dataset-csv.R b/r/tests/testthat/test-dataset-csv.R
index df58f853a1e..a8cd5bfe33b 100644
--- a/r/tests/testthat/test-dataset-csv.R
+++ b/r/tests/testthat/test-dataset-csv.R
@@ -91,7 +91,7 @@ test_that("CSV scan options", {
   sb$FragmentScanOptions(options)
 
   tab <- sb$Finish()$ToTable()
-  expect_equal(as.data.frame(tab), tibble(chr = c("foo", NA)))
+  expect_equal(as_tibble(tab), tibble(chr = c("foo", NA)))
 
   # Set default convert options in CsvFileFormat
   csv_format <- CsvFileFormat$create(
diff --git a/r/tests/testthat/test-dataset.R b/r/tests/testthat/test-dataset.R
index 91b405fc01c..06ecc3db43b 100644
--- a/r/tests/testthat/test-dataset.R
+++ b/r/tests/testthat/test-dataset.R
@@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ expect_scan_result <- function(ds, schm) {
   expect_r6_class(tab, "Table")
 
   expect_equal(
-    as.data.frame(tab),
+    as_tibble(tab),
     df1[8, c("chr", "lgl")]
   )
 }
@@ -706,7 +706,7 @@ test_that("streaming map_batches into an ExecPlan", {
       select(int) %>%
       map_batches(
         # as_mapper() can't handle %>%?
-        ~ mutate(as.data.frame(.), lets = letters[int])
+        ~ mutate(as_tibble(.), lets = letters[int])
       ) %>%
       arrange(int) %>%
       collect(),
@@ -806,19 +806,19 @@ test_that("head/tail", {
   big_df <- rbind(df1, df2)
 
   # No n provided (default is 6, all from one batch)
-  expect_equal(as.data.frame(head(ds)), head(df1))
-  expect_equal(as.data.frame(tail(ds)), tail(df2))
+  expect_equal(as_tibble(head(ds)), head(df1))
+  expect_equal(as_tibble(tail(ds)), tail(df2))
 
   # n = 0: have to drop `fct` because factor levels don't come through from
   # arrow when there are 0 rows
   zero_df <- big_df[FALSE, names(big_df) != "fct"]
-  expect_equal(as.data.frame(head(ds, 0))[, names(ds) != "fct"], zero_df)
-  expect_equal(as.data.frame(tail(ds, 0))[, names(ds) != "fct"], zero_df)
+  expect_equal(as_tibble(head(ds, 0))[, names(ds) != "fct"], zero_df)
+  expect_equal(as_tibble(tail(ds, 0))[, names(ds) != "fct"], zero_df)
 
   # Two more cases: more than 1 batch, and more than nrow
   for (n in c(12, 1000)) {
-    expect_equal(as.data.frame(head(ds, n)), head(big_df, n))
-    expect_equal(as.data.frame(tail(ds, n)), tail(big_df, n))
+    expect_equal(as_tibble(head(ds, n)), head(big_df, n))
+    expect_equal(as_tibble(tail(ds, n)), tail(big_df, n))
   }
   expect_error(head(ds, -1)) # Not yet implemented
   expect_error(tail(ds, -1)) # Not yet implemented
@@ -865,17 +865,17 @@ test_that("Dataset [ (take by index)", {
   ds <- open_dataset(dataset_dir)
   # Taking only from one file
   expect_equal(
-    as.data.frame(ds[c(4, 5, 9), 3:4]),
+    as_tibble(ds[c(4, 5, 9), 3:4]),
     df1[c(4, 5, 9), 3:4]
   )
   # Taking from more than one
   expect_equal(
-    as.data.frame(ds[c(4, 5, 9, 12, 13), 3:4]),
+    as_tibble(ds[c(4, 5, 9, 12, 13), 3:4]),
     rbind(df1[c(4, 5, 9), 3:4], df2[2:3, 3:4])
   )
   # Taking out of order
   expect_equal(
-    as.data.frame(ds[c(4, 13, 9, 12, 5), ]),
+    as_tibble(ds[c(4, 13, 9, 12, 5), ]),
     rbind(
       df1[4, ],
       df2[3, ],
@@ -890,7 +890,7 @@ test_that("Dataset [ (take by index)", {
     filter(int > 6) %>%
     select(int, lgl)
   expect_equal(
-    as.data.frame(ds2[c(2, 5), ]),
+    as_tibble(ds2[c(2, 5), ]),
     rbind(
       df1[8, c("int", "lgl")],
       df2[1, c("int", "lgl")]
@@ -985,11 +985,11 @@ test_that("Scanner$ScanBatches", {
   ds <- open_dataset(ipc_dir, format = "feather")
   batches <- ds$NewScan()$Finish()$ScanBatches()
   table <- Table$create(!!!batches)
-  expect_equal(as.data.frame(table), rbind(df1, df2))
+  expect_equal(as_tibble(table), rbind(df1, df2))
 
   batches <- ds$NewScan()$Finish()$ScanBatches()
   table <- Table$create(!!!batches)
-  expect_equal(as.data.frame(table), rbind(df1, df2))
+  expect_equal(as_tibble(table), rbind(df1, df2))
 })
 
 test_that("Scanner$ToRecordBatchReader()", {
@@ -1002,7 +1002,7 @@ test_that("Scanner$ToRecordBatchReader()", {
   reader <- scan$ToRecordBatchReader()
   expect_r6_class(reader, "RecordBatchReader")
   expect_identical(
-    as.data.frame(reader$read_table()),
+    as_tibble(reader$read_table()),
     df1[df1$int > 6, c("int", "lgl")]
   )
 })
@@ -1298,7 +1298,6 @@ test_that("FileSystemFactoryOptions with DirectoryPartitioning", {
   expect_equal(
     ds %>%
       summarize(sum(gear)) %>%
-      collect() %>%
       as.data.frame(),
     mtcars %>%
       summarize(sum(gear))
diff --git a/r/tests/testthat/test-dplyr-query.R b/r/tests/testthat/test-dplyr-query.R
index 0b2b23ec860..d3c08d6856b 100644
--- a/r/tests/testthat/test-dplyr-query.R
+++ b/r/tests/testthat/test-dplyr-query.R
@@ -117,14 +117,14 @@ test_that("collect(as_data_frame=FALSE)", {
   # collect(as_data_frame = FALSE) always returns Table now
   expect_r6_class(b2, "Table")
   expected <- tbl[tbl$int > 5 & !is.na(tbl$int), c("int", "chr")]
-  expect_equal(as.data.frame(b2), expected)
+  expect_equal(as_tibble(b2), expected)
 
   b3 <- batch %>%
     select(int, strng = chr) %>%
     filter(int > 5) %>%
     collect(as_data_frame = FALSE)
   expect_r6_class(b3, "Table")
-  expect_equal(as.data.frame(b3), set_names(expected, c("int", "strng")))
+  expect_equal(as_tibble(b3), set_names(expected, c("int", "strng")))
 
   b4 <- batch %>%
     select(int, strng = chr) %>%
@@ -133,7 +133,7 @@ test_that("collect(as_data_frame=FALSE)", {
     collect(as_data_frame = FALSE)
   expect_r6_class(b4, "Table")
   expect_equal(
-    as.data.frame(b4),
+    as_tibble(b4),
     expected %>%
       rename(strng = chr) %>%
       group_by(int)
@@ -154,14 +154,14 @@ test_that("compute()", {
 
   expect_r6_class(b2, "Table")
   expected <- tbl[tbl$int > 5 & !is.na(tbl$int), c("int", "chr")]
-  expect_equal(as.data.frame(b2), expected)
+  expect_equal(as_tibble(b2), expected)
 
   b3 <- batch %>%
     select(int, strng = chr) %>%
     filter(int > 5) %>%
     compute()
   expect_r6_class(b3, "Table")
-  expect_equal(as.data.frame(b3), set_names(expected, c("int", "strng")))
+  expect_equal(as_tibble(b3), set_names(expected, c("int", "strng")))
 
   b4 <- batch %>%
     select(int, strng = chr) %>%
@@ -170,7 +170,7 @@ test_that("compute()", {
     compute()
   expect_r6_class(b4, "Table")
   expect_equal(
-    as.data.frame(b4),
+    as_tibble(b4),
     expected %>%
       rename(strng = chr) %>%
       group_by(int)
@@ -193,7 +193,7 @@ test_that("head", {
     filter(int > 5) %>%
     head(2)
   expect_s3_class(b3, "arrow_dplyr_query")
-  expect_equal(as.data.frame(b3), set_names(expected, c("int", "strng")))
+  expect_equal(as_tibble(b3), set_names(expected, c("int", "strng")))
 
   b4 <- batch %>%
     select(int, strng = chr) %>%
@@ -202,7 +202,7 @@ test_that("head", {
     head(2)
   expect_s3_class(b4, "arrow_dplyr_query")
   expect_equal(
-    as.data.frame(b4),
+    as_tibble(b4),
     expected %>%
       rename(strng = chr) %>%
       group_by(int)
@@ -268,7 +268,7 @@ test_that("tail", {
 
   expect_s3_class(b2, "arrow_dplyr_query")
   expected <- tail(tbl[tbl$int > 5 & !is.na(tbl$int), c("int", "chr")], 2)
-  expect_equal(as.data.frame(b2), expected)
+  expect_equal(as_tibble(b2), expected)
 
   b3 <- batch %>%
     select(int, strng = chr) %>%
@@ -276,7 +276,7 @@ test_that("tail", {
     arrange(int) %>%
     tail(2)
   expect_s3_class(b3, "arrow_dplyr_query")
-  expect_equal(as.data.frame(b3), set_names(expected, c("int", "strng")))
+  expect_equal(as_tibble(b3), set_names(expected, c("int", "strng")))
 
   b4 <- batch %>%
     select(int, strng = chr) %>%
@@ -286,7 +286,7 @@ test_that("tail", {
     tail(2)
   expect_s3_class(b4, "arrow_dplyr_query")
   expect_equal(
-    as.data.frame(b4),
+    as_tibble(b4),
     expected %>%
       rename(strng = chr) %>%
       group_by(int)
@@ -598,7 +598,7 @@ test_that("compute() on a grouped query returns a Table with groups in metadata"
     compute()
   expect_r6_class(tab1, "Table")
   expect_equal(
-    as.data.frame(tab1),
+    as_tibble(tab1),
     tbl %>%
       group_by(int)
   )
diff --git a/r/tests/testthat/test-feather.R b/r/tests/testthat/test-feather.R
index 4caadc27c4b..88e890d408d 100644
--- a/r/tests/testthat/test-feather.R
+++ b/r/tests/testthat/test-feather.R
@@ -177,7 +177,7 @@ test_that("feather read/write round trip", {
   tab1 <- read_feather(feather_file, as_data_frame = FALSE)
   expect_r6_class(tab1, "Table")
 
-  expect_equal(tib, as.data.frame(tab1))
+  expect_equal(tib, as_tibble(tab1))
 })
 
 test_that("Read feather from raw vector", {
diff --git a/r/tests/testthat/test-metadata.R b/r/tests/testthat/test-metadata.R
index 4cf8e49af1b..8c8c72b10c0 100644
--- a/r/tests/testthat/test-metadata.R
+++ b/r/tests/testthat/test-metadata.R
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ test_that("Table R metadata", {
     "$r$columns$c$columns$c1$attributes$extra_attr",
     fixed = TRUE
   )
-  expect_identical(as.data.frame(tab), example_with_metadata)
+  expect_identical(as_tibble(tab), example_with_metadata)
 })
 
 test_that("R metadata is not stored for types that map to Arrow types (factor, Date, etc.)", {
@@ -94,7 +94,7 @@ test_that("Garbage R metadata doesn't break things", {
   tab <- Table$create(example_data[1:6])
   tab$metadata$r <- "garbage"
   expect_warning(
-    expect_identical(as.data.frame(tab), example_data[1:6]),
+    expect_identical(as_tibble(tab), example_data[1:6]),
     "Invalid metadata$r",
     fixed = TRUE
   )
@@ -103,7 +103,7 @@ test_that("Garbage R metadata doesn't break things", {
   tab <- Table$create(example_data[1:6])
   tab$metadata$r <- rawToChar(serialize("garbage", NULL, ascii = TRUE))
   expect_warning(
-    expect_identical(as.data.frame(tab), example_data[1:6]),
+    expect_identical(as_tibble(tab), example_data[1:6]),
     "Invalid metadata$r",
     fixed = TRUE
   )
@@ -164,7 +164,7 @@ test_that("RecordBatch metadata", {
 })
 
 test_that("RecordBatch R metadata", {
-  expect_identical(as.data.frame(record_batch(example_with_metadata)), example_with_metadata)
+  expect_identical(as_tibble(record_batch(example_with_metadata)), example_with_metadata)
 })
 
 test_that("R metadata roundtrip via parquet", {
@@ -195,7 +195,7 @@ test_that("haven types roundtrip via feather", {
 test_that("Date/time type roundtrip", {
   rb <- record_batch(example_with_times)
   expect_r6_class(rb$schema$posixlt$type, "VctrsExtensionType")
-  expect_identical(as.data.frame(rb), example_with_times)
+  expect_identical(as_tibble(rb), example_with_times)
 })
 
 test_that("metadata keeps attribute of top level data frame", {
@@ -223,7 +223,7 @@ test_that("metadata drops readr's problems attribute", {
   )
 
   tab <- Table$create(readr_like)
-  expect_null(attr(as.data.frame(tab), "problems"))
+  expect_null(attr(as_tibble(tab), "problems"))
 })
 
 test_that("Row-level metadata (does not by default) roundtrip", {
@@ -241,8 +241,8 @@ test_that("Row-level metadata (does not by default) roundtrip", {
     list("arrow.preserve_row_level_metadata" = TRUE),
     {
       tab <- Table$create(df)
-      expect_identical(attr(as.data.frame(tab)$x[[1]], "foo"), "bar")
-      expect_identical(attr(as.data.frame(tab)$x[[2]], "baz"), "qux")
+      expect_identical(attr(as_tibble(tab)$x[[1]], "foo"), "bar")
+      expect_identical(attr(as_tibble(tab)$x[[2]], "baz"), "qux")
     }
   )
 })
@@ -379,15 +379,3 @@ test_that("grouped_df metadata is recorded (efficiently)", {
   expect_r6_class(grouped_tab, "Table")
   expect_equal(grouped_tab$metadata$r$attributes$.group_vars, "a")
 })
-
-test_that("grouped_df non-arrow metadata is preserved", {
-  simple_tbl <- tibble(a = 1:2, b = 3:4)
-  attr(simple_tbl, "other_metadata") <- "look I'm still here!"
-  grouped <- group_by(simple_tbl, a)
-  grouped_tab <- arrow_table(grouped)
-
-  expect_equal(
-    attributes(as.data.frame(grouped_tab))$other_metadata,
-    "look I'm still here!"
-  )
-})
diff --git a/r/tests/testthat/test-na-omit.R b/r/tests/testthat/test-na-omit.R
index c2d0fd1b71a..4c26d4275b6 100644
--- a/r/tests/testthat/test-na-omit.R
+++ b/r/tests/testthat/test-na-omit.R
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ test_that("na.fail on Array and ChunkedArray", {
 test_that("na.omit on Table", {
   tbl <- Table$create(example_data)
   expect_equal(
-    as.data.frame(na.omit(tbl)),
+    as_tibble(na.omit(tbl)),
     na.omit(example_data),
     # We don't include an attribute with the rows omitted
     ignore_attr = "na.action"
@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ test_that("na.omit on Table", {
 test_that("na.exclude on Table", {
   tbl <- Table$create(example_data)
   expect_equal(
-    as.data.frame(na.exclude(tbl)),
+    as_tibble(na.exclude(tbl)),
     na.exclude(example_data),
     ignore_attr = "na.action"
   )
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@ test_that("na.fail on Table", {
 test_that("na.omit on RecordBatch", {
   batch <- record_batch(example_data)
   expect_equal(
-    as.data.frame(na.omit(batch)),
+    as_tibble(na.omit(batch)),
     na.omit(example_data),
     ignore_attr = "na.action"
   )
@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ test_that("na.omit on RecordBatch", {
 test_that("na.exclude on RecordBatch", {
   batch <- record_batch(example_data)
   expect_equal(
-    as.data.frame(na.exclude(batch)),
+    as_tibble(na.exclude(batch)),
     na.omit(example_data),
     ignore_attr = "na.action"
   )
diff --git a/r/tests/testthat/test-python-flight.R b/r/tests/testthat/test-python-flight.R
index d2b6fd491e1..f8519fcabd3 100644
--- a/r/tests/testthat/test-python-flight.R
+++ b/r/tests/testthat/test-python-flight.R
@@ -53,13 +53,13 @@ if (process_is_running("demo_flight_server")) {
   })
 
   test_that("flight_get", {
-    expect_identical(as.data.frame(flight_get(client, flight_obj)), example_data)
+    expect_identical(as_tibble(flight_get(client, flight_obj)), example_data)
   })
 
   test_that("flight_put with RecordBatch", {
     flight_obj2 <- tempfile()
     flight_put(client, RecordBatch$create(example_data), path = flight_obj2)
-    expect_identical(as.data.frame(flight_get(client, flight_obj2)), example_data)
+    expect_identical(as_tibble(flight_get(client, flight_obj2)), example_data)
   })
 
   test_that("flight_put with overwrite = FALSE", {
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ if (process_is_running("demo_flight_server")) {
     )
     # Default is TRUE so this will overwrite
     flight_put(client, example_with_times, path = flight_obj)
-    expect_identical(as.data.frame(flight_get(client, flight_obj)), example_with_times)
+    expect_identical(as_tibble(flight_get(client, flight_obj)), example_with_times)
   })
 
   test_that("flight_disconnect", {
diff --git a/r/tests/testthat/test-python.R b/r/tests/testthat/test-python.R
index 968d72119c5..87f364d6e2b 100644
--- a/r/tests/testthat/test-python.R
+++ b/r/tests/testthat/test-python.R
@@ -108,7 +108,7 @@ test_that("RecordBatch with metadata roundtrip", {
   expect_identical(rbatch$metadata, batch$metadata)
   expect_equal(rbatch$a, batch$a)
   expect_equal(rbatch[c("b", "c", "d")], batch[c("b", "c", "d")])
-  expect_identical(as.data.frame(rbatch), example_with_metadata)
+  expect_identical(as_tibble(rbatch), example_with_metadata)
 })
 
 test_that("Table with metadata roundtrip", {
@@ -123,7 +123,7 @@ test_that("Table with metadata roundtrip", {
   expect_identical(rtab$metadata, tab$metadata)
   expect_equal(rtab$a, tab$a)
   expect_equal(rtab[c("b", "c", "d")], tab[c("b", "c", "d")])
-  expect_identical(as.data.frame(rtab), example_with_metadata)
+  expect_identical(as_tibble(rtab), example_with_metadata)
 })
 
 test_that("DataType roundtrip", {
@@ -161,7 +161,7 @@ test_that("RecordBatchReader to python", {
   back_to_r <- reticulate::py_to_r(pytab)
   expect_r6_class(back_to_r, "Table")
   expect_identical(
-    as.data.frame(back_to_r),
+    as_tibble(back_to_r),
     example_data %>%
       select(int, lgl) %>%
       filter(int > 6)
@@ -178,7 +178,7 @@ test_that("RecordBatchReader from python", {
   back_to_r <- reticulate::py_to_r(pyreader)
   rt_table <- back_to_r$read_table()
   expect_r6_class(rt_table, "Table")
-  expect_identical(as.data.frame(rt_table), example_data)
+  expect_identical(as_tibble(rt_table), example_data)
 
   scan <- Scanner$create(tab)
   reader <- scan$ToRecordBatchReader()
diff --git a/r/tests/testthat/test-read-write.R b/r/tests/testthat/test-read-write.R
index 66f6db56d90..1bd5826090a 100644
--- a/r/tests/testthat/test-read-write.R
+++ b/r/tests/testthat/test-read-write.R
@@ -115,7 +115,7 @@ test_that("table round trip handles NA in integer and numeric", {
 test_that("reading/writing a raw vector (sparklyr integration)", {
   # These are effectively what sparklyr calls to get data to/from Spark
   read_from_raw_test <- function(x) {
-    as.data.frame(RecordBatchStreamReader$create(x)$read_next_batch())
+    as_tibble(RecordBatchStreamReader$create(x)$read_next_batch())
   }
   bytes <- write_to_raw(example_data)
   expect_type(bytes, "raw")
diff --git a/r/tests/testthat/test-utf.R b/r/tests/testthat/test-utf.R
index f7553da5b4a..38de11b7c37 100644
--- a/r/tests/testthat/test-utf.R
+++ b/r/tests/testthat/test-utf.R
@@ -45,12 +45,12 @@ test_that("We handle non-UTF strings", {
   expect_identical(as.vector(ChunkedArray$create(df)), df)
 
   # Table (including field name)
-  expect_identical(as.data.frame(Table$create(df)), df)
-  expect_identical(as.data.frame(Table$create(df_struct)), df_struct)
+  expect_identical(as_tibble(Table$create(df)), df)
+  expect_identical(as_tibble(Table$create(df_struct)), df_struct)
 
   # RecordBatch
-  expect_identical(as.data.frame(record_batch(df)), df)
-  expect_identical(as.data.frame(record_batch(df_struct)), df_struct)
+  expect_identical(as_tibble(record_batch(df)), df)
+  expect_identical(as_tibble(record_batch(df_struct)), df_struct)
 
   # Schema field name
   df_schema <- do.call(schema, raw_schema)
@@ -59,10 +59,10 @@ test_that("We handle non-UTF strings", {
   df_struct_schema <- schema(a = do.call(struct, raw_schema))
 
   # Create table/batch with schema
-  expect_identical(as.data.frame(Table$create(df, schema = df_schema)), df)
-  expect_identical(as.data.frame(Table$create(df_struct, schema = df_struct_schema)), df_struct)
-  expect_identical(as.data.frame(record_batch(df, schema = df_schema)), df)
-  expect_identical(as.data.frame(record_batch(df_struct, schema = df_struct_schema)), df_struct)
+  expect_identical(as_tibble(Table$create(df, schema = df_schema)), df)
+  expect_identical(as_tibble(Table$create(df_struct, schema = df_struct_schema)), df_struct)
+  expect_identical(as_tibble(record_batch(df, schema = df_schema)), df)
+  expect_identical(as_tibble(record_batch(df_struct, schema = df_struct_schema)), df_struct)
 
   # Serialization
   feather_file <- tempfile()