Fast food burgers hit the spot on road trips and when you’re pressed for time. But given most sandwich buns are made with wheat, there often aren’t a lot of options for those with gluten allergies.

These burger spirals are an acceptable gluten-free solution: They’re made with rice paper wrappers.

Usually the thin, transparent rounds made from rice, water and salt are the foundation for Vietnamese summer rolls — fresh spring rolls filled with shredded vegetables, fresh herbs, noodles and proteins like shrimp and pork and served cold.

Here, in an attempt to replicate the flavor of McDonald’s signature burger, the wrappers are stuffed Big Mac-style with ground beef, lettuce, cheese, pickles and onions, rolled burrito-style into a tight cylinder, curled into a spiral and baked to a golden crisp under a sprinkle of sesame seed.

A tangy, mayo-based special sauce crafted with yellow mustard and sweet pickle relish is served on the side for dipping, along with shoestring fries.

Recipes for the culinary creation dubbed the “Big Mac Spiral” have been making the rounds on social media for a while, and I’m guessing it’s because the spirals actually are a fairly good facsimile of the real deal. The rice paper bakes up crispy, the ingredients are fairly economical and for those on gluten-free diets, there’s no worries about cross-contamination with flour.

Rice paper rounds aren’t as delicate as they might appear, but you do have to be careful when rehydrating them. Also, they need only a few seconds in the egg wash; linger too long and they’ll get too soft and be tricky to work with.

It helps to get all the ingredients organized at a work station before you prepare to roll. Lightly oiling the cutting board so nothing sticks will also make rolling easier, along with allowing yourself a few tries to get the hang of it. Practice makes perfect!

Don’t fret over small tears, as they can be repaired by overlapping the rounds. If the rip is too big to work with, simply replace the torn sheet with a fresh round — a package comes with more than the 12 sheets you need to make this recipe.

I served the rolls with a copycat McDonald’s special sauce but you could use thousand island dressing. Or, simply dip the spirals in Heinz ketchup. Fries go best as a side.

Cheeseburger Rice Paper Spirals

INGREDIENTS

1 pound ground beef
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Pinch or two of garlic powder
12 rice paper sheets
2 eggs, beaten with a little water
Handful shredded lettuce
1/2 cup shredded American or cheddar cheese, or more to taste
1/4 cup finely diced dill pickles or pickle relish, or more to taste
1/4 cup finely diced onion, or more to taste
Sesame seeds, for garnish

For dipping sauce:

1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish
1 tablespoon grated yellow onion
2 teaspoons yellow mustard
1/2 teaspoon white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Squirt or two of ketchup

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Brown and crumble ground beef in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Drain any grease. Season to taste with salt, pepper and a little garlic powder.

Whisk eggs with a little water in a wide and shallow bowl (it should be large enough to hold a rice paper round comfortably). One at a time, carefully dip 3 rice papers into the beaten egg for a few seconds until they soften (be gentle!), then lay them in a row with the edges overlapping on a lightly oiled cutting board.

Spoon 1/4 of the ground beef evenly across the top of the sheets, followed by shredded lettuce, shredded cheese, diced pickles and onions.

Roll up like a cigar into a tight cylinder, then gently curve it around itself into a spiral.

Place spirals on a parchment paper-covered baking sheet. Brush with a little bit of the egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Repeat with remaining wrappers and fillings.

Bake spirals in preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until crispy and golden brown.

While spirals are baking, make sauce by stirring all the ingredients together in a small bowl. Taste and add more seasoning if needed. Set aside.

When spirals are done baking, remove from the oven and serve immediately with dipping sauce.

Serves 4.

— Gretchen McKay, Post-Gazette

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Today is Thursday, Aug. 7, the 219th day of 2025. There are 146 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Aug. 7, 1974, French highwire artist Philippe Petit performed an unapproved tightrope walk between the two towers of the World Trade Center in New York, over 1,300 feet above the ground; the event was chronicled in the Academy Award-winning documentary “Man on Wire.”

Also on this date:

In 1789, the U.S. Department of War was established by Congress.

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In 1942, U.S. and other allied forces landed at Guadalcanal, marking the start of the first major allied offensive in the Pacific during World War II.

In 1960, Cote d’Ivoire gained independence from France.

In 1964, Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin resolution, giving President Lyndon B. Johnson broad powers in dealing with reported North Vietnamese attacks on U.S. forces.

In 1971, the Apollo 15 moon mission ended successfully as its command module splashed down in the Pacific Ocean.

In 1978, President Jimmy Carter declared the Love Canal environmental disaster in Niagara Falls, N.Y. a federal health emergency; it would later top the initial list of Superfund cleanup sites.

In 1989, a plane carrying U.S. Rep. Mickey Leland, D-Texas, and 15 others disappeared over Ethiopia. (The wreckage of the plane was found six days later; there were no survivors.)

In 1990, President George H.W. Bush ordered U.S. troops and warplanes to Saudi Arabia to guard the oil-rich desert kingdom against a possible invasion by Iraq.

In 1998, terrorist bombs at U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania killed 224 people, including 12 Americans.

In 2007, San Francisco’s Barry Bonds hit home run No. 756 to break Hank Aaron’s storied record with one out in the fifth inning of a game against the Washington Nationals, who won, 8-6.

In 2012, to avoid a possible death penalty, Jared Lee Loughner agreed to spend the rest of his life in prison, accepting that he went on a deadly shooting rampage at an Arizona political gathering in 2011 that left six people dead and 13 injured, including U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords.

In 2015, Colorado theater shooter James Holmes was spared the death penalty in favor of life in prison after a jury in Centennial failed to agree on whether he should be executed for his attack on a packed movie premiere that left 12 people dead.

Today’s Birthdays:

Singer Lana Cantrell is 82.
Former FBI Director Robert Mueller is 81.
Actor John Glover is 81.
Actor David Rasche is 81.
Former diplomat, talk show host and activist Alan Keyes is 75.
Country singer Rodney Crowell is 75.
Actor Caroline Aaron is 73.
Comedian Alexei Sayle is 73.
Actor Wayne Knight is 70.
Rock singer Bruce Dickinson is 67.
Actor David Duchovny is 65.
Actor Delane Matthews is 64.
Actor Harold Perrineau is 62.
Jazz musician Marcus Roberts is 62.
Country singer Raul Malo is 60.
Actor David Mann is 59.
Actor Charlotte Lewis is 58.
Actor Sydney Penny is 54.
Actor Greg Serano is 53.
Actor Michael Shannon is 51.
Actor Charlize Theron is 50.
Rock musician Barry Kerch is 49.
Actor Eric Johnson is 46.
Actor Randy Wayne is 44.
Actor-writer Brit Marling is 43.
NHL center Sidney Crosby is 38.
MLB All-Star Mike Trout is 34.
Actor Liam James is 29.

Minnesota United will not win the quadruple in 2025.

After a strong six-plus months to start the year, the Loons were eliminated from Leagues Cup with a 2-0 loss to Atletico de San Luis on Wednesday at Allianz Field.

MNUFC finished with four points in Phase One of the tournament with clubs from Mexico’s Liga MX, well short of what was required to be among the top four MLS teams to advance to the quarterfinals. They will be part of the 14 MLS clubs left out of the next round.

This year, United’s smaller roster size was stretching itself to try to compete in multiple competitions and will now get a chance to regroup and recenter its focus, with the MLS Supporters Shield, MLS Cup Playoffs and U.S. Open Cup still obtainable this year.

On Wednesday, MNUFC conceded a header goal off a corner kick in the final moments of Wednesday’s first half. The score from Joao Pedro was very similar to the one the Loons gave up in stoppage time to drop points in the 3-3 draw with Club America on Saturday.

The Loons set-piece defending was a culprit in being bounced out of the North American tournament.

San Luis sat back defensively and challenged Minnesota to break them down. This strategy was a winning one for Los Angeles FC in MLS play three weeks ago, and others are turning to that strategy.

MNUFC had scoring chances, but didn’t get a shot on target until the 76th minute, when Anthony Markanich’s header was denied by goalkeeper Andres Sanchez.

With Minnesota pushing for an equalizer, San Luis sub Sebastian Perez-Bouquet scored the second goal in the 90th minute.

Minnesota had a dream start to its Leagues Cup play with a runaway 4-1 win over Queretaro last Wednesday, but squandered three leads to America that made it much more difficult for the Loons to advance with only four points through two matches.

Training 1-0 at the half and needing a big second half, Loons head coach Eric Ramsay brought in Tani Oluwaseyi to join Kelvin Yeboah at forward as well as Bongi Hlongwane and Anthony Markanich. Ramsay usually likes to make these moves at halftime but surprisingly waited until the 54th minute.

With three games in eight days, Ramsay tried to be strategic in trying to keep his team fresh, while putting a team on the field strong enough to win. He didn’t put out his strongest lineup and that group couldn’t punch up on Wednesday.

San Luis was eliminated from the next round before the match due to a 4-0 loss to Portland last week and a 2-2 draw with Salt Lake last weekend, but their doomed fate didn’t diminish their ability to get a win on the road.

Briefly

The Loons’ unbeaten streak against Liga MX sides in Leagues Cup was snapped at five since 2023. … MNUFC called up rookie forward Luke Hille for his fourth short-term loan. The University of North Carolina product made his MLS debut at St. Louis on July 26. … The Gophers football team watched the Loons on Wednesday, taking a break from preseason camp.

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By JACK BROOK and LISA BAUMANN, Associated Press

United Airlines flights on major routes were grounded Wednesday because of a technology issue, and additional flight delays were expected into the evening, the airline said.

An alert on the Federal Aviation Administration website said all United flights destined for Chicago were halted at their departing airports. The agency said Denver, Newark, Houston and San Francisco airports were also impacted by halted flights.

“Safety is our top priority, and we’ll work with our customers to get them to their destinations,” an emailed statement from the Chicago based-airline said without disclosing the specifics of the problem.

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An AP journalist had boarded a United plane at the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport for a trip to Houston when flight attendants announced a “systemwide” problem had grounded flights. They then sent passengers back to the terminal.

Another traveler, Johan Kotze, was at the New Orleans airport to begin a journey to the Indian Ocean island nation of Mauritius for vacation. Getting caught up in flight delays for him likely meant he would miss connecting flights along the way and would have to rebook not only the flights but a car and accommodations as well.

“It’s not very nice,” he said of the experience.

United Airlines apologized on social media to upset customers who were facing delays and hours sitting in planes on runways.

“Hey there, we apologize for the travel disruption today,” the airline told a customer on the social platform X. “Our teams are working to resolve the outage as quickly as possible. Thank you for your patience.”