The Blades battled gamely throughout and even missed a big early chance when Iliman Ndiaye saw his shot saved by Stefan Ortega but once Mahrez scored his first from the spot two minutes before half-time, City made their class count.
He opened the scoring after Daniel Jebbison fouled Bernardo Silva, before taking advantage of a wide open Sheffield United defence to score the second with a solo effort just after the hour.
Mahrez then got his third, the first in a semi-final in this competition since Alex Dawson achieved the feat for Manchester United in 1958, when he swept Jack Grealish's cross past Wes Foderingham after 66 minutes.
It gave City manager Pep Guardiola the luxury of taking off key men such as Erling Haaland, Grealish, Bernardo Silva and Ilkay Gundogan in readiness for what is shaping up as a defining Premier League title meeting with current leaders Arsenal at Etihad Stadium on Wednesday.
City and Guardiola have had a highly satisfactory week after reaching the Champions League semi-final, setting up an FA Cup final with either Brighton or Manchester United and seeing main rivals Arsenal drop points in the league.
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