In a poll voted for by the club's fans, the Basque midfielder narrowly pipped Antonio Valencia and Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the closest ever three-way contest for the prize.
Herrera never convinced Louis van Gaal of his qualities but, operating in a deeper role in Jose Mourinho's midfield, he has become an indispensable asset to the team.
His work rate, energy and passionate all-action displays has seen Herrera become a fans favourite at United and earmarked him as a possible future captain.
His next appearance for the Reds will be his half-century for the season in a campaign that included a senior debut for Spain at Wembley - to finally realise Herrera's long-held ambition of international recognition.
The first name on the team-sheet, the high point of Herrera's season came in the 2-0 win over champions Chelsea last month.
He was at the heart of everything the team did, with a goal, an assist and a magnificent man-marking masterclass to snuff out the threat of the Blues' star man Eden Hazard.
David de Gea, the first man to win the coveted accolade three seasons in succession, presented his friend and compatriot with the gong.
Despite missing out on the main award, Valencia received deserved recognition after another impressively consistent campaign at right-back.
The Ecuadorian - who won three monthly awards during the season - was the pick of his peers in the dressing room as he was voted the club's Players Player of the Year.
Valencia has again been a key cog in this United side and is widely regarded as the best in the league in his position.
Unsurprisingly, Henrikh Mkhitaryan's scorpion-kick goal against Sunderland was a runaway winner of United's Goal of the Season.
The Armenian's breathtaking piece of acrobatic improvisation on Boxing Day, set up by an equally exquisite cross from Zlatan, was the landslide victor with 57% of the votes.
Wazza's record-breaking free-kick at Stoke in January (13%) and Paul Pogba's long-range effort from distance against Swansea completed the top three.
16-year-old Angel Gomes, regarded as a precocious talent with a bright future, became the youngest ever winner of the Jimmy Murphy Youth Team of the Year trophy.
Gomes, a striker or no.10, has already had England age group recognition and was the leading scorer for Kieran McKenna's vibrant, free-scoring Academy side.
Axel Tuanzebe, who has started the last three Premier League matches, capped his promising breakthrough season with the Denzil Haroun Reserve Team Player of the Year award (ahead of Josh Harrop and Demi Mitchell).
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