Joy in England's most prestigious cup competition had been hard to come by for Villa in recent years, playing in their first last-eight clash since the 2014/15 campaign when they were beaten by Arsenal in the final.
The magnitude of this game was arguably even bigger for Preston, whose previous FA Cup quarter-final appearance came 59 years ago.
The Villans had the game’s first opening when Ezri Konsa just mistimed his jump to meet Marco Asensio’s enticing left-footed delivery.
Unai Emery’s side then tried their luck with two tame set-pieces from Lucas Digne which drifted harmlessly over and wide respectively, before Preston looked to seize their moment.
Emiliano Martínez parried Robbie Brady’s initial left-footed cross into the path of Mads Frøkjær-Jensen, and he nodded the ball back to Stefán Teitur Þórðarson, who agonisingly headed over from close range.
This was a rather tepid first-half display from Villa’s perspective, epitomised when Konza manipulated his body into an awkward position and headed over from Rashford’s corner.
Rashford was involved in the thick of the action after the restart at the end of a swift break, with a chance engineered by Morgan Rogers’ persistence. He slipped in the Manchester United loanee, who could not find a way past the imposing Lilywhites shot-stopper David Cornell.
However, Rashford did make the breakthrough for Unai Emery’s men in the 58th minute when he applied a clinical first-time right-footed effort from Digne’s cross.
Suddenly, the pressure had dissipated, and it was Rashford who found the net again a mere five minutes later from the penalty spot.
Andrew Hughes was penalised for treading on Rogers’ foot in the box, and Villa’s number nine confidently dispatched the subsequent penalty, sending Cornell the wrong way.
Rashford looked to add an assist to go with his brace, catching the Preston defence off guard with a through ball for Rogers, who was denied by Cornell.
However, it didn’t take long for Emery’s men to add to their tally, as Jacob Ramsey added a third with a superb individual effort, rifling home a fine finish into the bottom corner.
The convincing scoreline was somewhat harsh on Paul Heckingbottom’s side, who will take a lot of confidence from their first-half display in particular.
This result continues the club’s dismal record against top-flight opposition in the FA Cup, with this their 19th defeat in 20 previous games against teams from England’s highest division.
Meanwhile, Villa will believe they can end a 19-year major trophy drought after a fifth consecutive victory in all competitions without conceding a goal.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Marcus Rashford (Aston Villa)