Dump chopped cabbage over ground beef, together with 4 ingredients, into slow cooker for a wholesome dinner

Place the raw ground beef in the bottom of a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker. Use a spoon or clean hands to gently break it up into a few large chunks so it cooks evenly, but don’t worry about fully crumbling it at this point.

Dump the chopped cabbage directly over the ground beef in an even layer. This should look like a big pile of cabbage sitting on top of the beef—that’s exactly what you want.
Pour the marinara or tomato pasta sauce over the cabbage. Add the beef broth, then sprinkle the rinsed rice and the kosher salt over the top.

Use a spoon to very gently press the cabbage down so it’s mostly submerged in liquid, but avoid stirring too much; you want the ground beef to stay near the bottom so it cooks through.
Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 7 hours, or on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours, until the cabbage is very tender, the rice is cooked, and the ground beef is no longer pink in the center.
Once cooked, use a spoon to break up any larger pieces of ground beef right in the slow cooker, stirring everything together into a hearty soup. Taste and add a little more salt if needed.

Ladle the soup into bowls and serve hot. If you’d like, garnish with a little shredded cheese or a spoonful of sour cream right before serving.
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