Open the can of crushed tomatoes and pour the entire can, juices and all, over the cabbage and beef in the slow cooker, making sure the tomatoes are spread out so they lightly cover the surface.
Cover the slow cooker with the lid and cook on LOW for 7 to 8 hours, or on HIGH for 4 to 5 hours, until the beef is very tender and the cabbage is soft and silky.
Once cooked, stir everything together well so the beef, cabbage, onions, and tomatoes are evenly combined and coated in the juices. Taste and add a pinch more salt if needed.
Ladle into bowls and serve hot, making sure each serving gets plenty of beef, cabbage, and the tomato-rich broth.
To keep the spirit of a 5-ingredient, Depression-era style meal, think in terms of substitutions rather than add-ons. If you don’t have stew meat, you can use any tougher cut of beef you’d normally braise, such as chuck roast cut into chunks; the long, slow cooking will make it tender. Green cabbage is traditional and inexpensive, but savoy cabbage works as a softer, slightly sweeter option if that’s what you have. For a leaner take, you can swap in chunks of pork shoulder instead of beef, using the same method and timing. If your canned tomatoes are on the acidic side, a very small pinch of sugar at the end (stirred in after cooking) can round out the flavor without changing the ingredient list going into the slow cooker. To stretch the meal further, serve it over cooked barley, rice, or potatoes—this was a common Depression-era trick to make a modest amount of meat feel generous. Leftovers keep well; the flavors deepen by the next day, and you can reheat gently on the stovetop with a splash of water if it’s thickened too much in the fridge.
