Sherwood's side scored all four goals in the first half, prompting a mass walkout from the Stadium of Light by thousands of home supporters.
Villa have now won back-to-back Premier League games and advanced to the semi-finals of the FA Cup under new manager Sherwood, having previously managed only four goals away from home this season.
Reflecting on the stunning win, Sherwood said his men had taken a "great step", suggesting that his methods were paying dividends at the club who now lie 16th, two places outside the relegation zone.
"The boys have taken on board what I am asking them to do," Sherwood said on Aston Villa's official website.
"They are getting the ball back quickly when we are out of possession and we have so much pace on the counter-attack and the defenders are playing very well."
Villa took the lead through Christian Benteke and never looked back, with Gabriel Agbonlahor then scoring twice before Benteke notched his second at the end of the first half.
Sherwood also felt comfortable enough to give 16-year-old Rushian Hepburn-Murphy a debut, the Birmingham-born striker coming on for the closing minutes.
The win piles the pressure on Sunderland manager Gus Poyet, with the Black Cats on a run of poor form which has seen them win just one of their last 12 league games.
Sherwood, who was Poyet's team mate at Tottenham Hotspur for two years, said of his own side's fight to stay up: "There's a long way to go. I just told the guys that in the dressing room."
(Editing by Ian Chadband)
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