My grandfather survived tough times on this hearty meal and it is still a family favorite. Just 4 ingredients for a comforting dinner that stretches your dollar.

This slow cooker 4-ingredient ground beef and cabbage is the kind of humble, filling meal that saw a lot of families through lean years, including my own grandfather’s. It’s built on inexpensive staples—beef, cabbage, onion, and a simple broth concentrate—simmered low and slow until everything is tender and deeply savory. You get a pot of comfort that feels nostalgic and honest, with flavors that are more than the sum of their parts and a recipe that’s easy enough to remember by heart.

Serve this straight from the slow cooker into bowls, making sure to ladle some of the rich broth over each portion. It’s especially good over hot boiled potatoes, buttered egg noodles, or plain white rice to soak up the juices. A slice of crusty bread or cornbread on the side fits the frugal, old-fashioned spirit of the dish and helps stretch it even further. If you like a bit of brightness, add a spoonful of prepared mustard or a splash of cider vinegar at the table, and round out the meal with a simple green salad or steamed carrots.

Servings: 4–6

1 1/2 pounds ground beef (80–90% lean)

Brown the ground beef: In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook the ground beef, breaking it into small crumbles with a spoon, until it is well browned and no pink remains, about 7–10 minutes. If there is a lot of fat in the pan, spoon off most of it, leaving a couple of tablespoons for flavor.

Layer the vegetables in the slow cooker: Place the sliced onion in an even layer on the bottom of a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker. Add the sliced cabbage on top, spreading it out into loose ribbons. The cooker will look quite full, but the cabbage will wilt down as it cooks.

Add the beef and broth: Spoon the browned ground beef evenly over the cabbage. Pour the beef broth (or water mixed with beef bouillon) over everything, trying to moisten as much of the cabbage as possible. Do not stir; the layers help the cabbage steam and the flavors develop slowly.

Slow cook until tender: Cover the slow cooker with the lid and cook on LOW for 6–8 hours, or on HIGH for 3–4 hours, until the cabbage is very soft, translucent in places, and the onions have melted into the broth. The mixture should look like tender ribbons of pale green cabbage tangled with browned beef in a light, savory broth.

Taste and adjust: Give everything a good stir to combine the layers. Taste the broth and add a pinch of salt or a little extra bouillon if needed, and black pepper if you like (optional and not required). The final dish should be well-seasoned, with enough broth pooling around the edges to spoon over whatever you serve it with.

Serve: Ladle the beef and cabbage mixture into bowls, making sure each serving gets plenty of the seasoned broth. Serve hot, as is or over potatoes, rice, or noodles to stretch the meal further.

To stay true to the spirit of a four-ingredient, budget-minded recipe, keep any additions simple and optional. If you want more depth without changing the core, use half ground beef and half ground pork, or brown the meat until it develops deep, dark bits on the bottom of the pan before deglazing with a splash of the broth. For a slightly sweeter, more old-fashioned profile, add a handful of thinly sliced carrots with the onion layer. You can also swap part of the green cabbage for savoy cabbage if that’s what you have. To make the dish leaner, drain off almost all of the beef fat after browning and use a low-sodium broth. For a complete one-pot meal, stir in cooked barley or leftover rice during the last 30 minutes of cooking so it can warm through in the broth. Leftovers reheat very well; the flavors deepen overnight, making this an excellent make-ahead option for lunches or another weeknight dinner.