Midfielder Nolan grabbed the derby headlines with a hat-trick to help condemn the Black Cats to an embarrassing 5-1 defeat at St James' Park.
The 28-year-old needed just 34 minutes to put the home side 2-0 ahead then completed the scoring 15 minutes from time after Shola Ameobi had helped himself to a brace either side of Titus Bramble's 53rd-minute dismissal.
Manager Hughton, whose contractual situation sparked all kinds of speculation last week over his future at the club, was delighted with the skipper.
"It is pretty decent and he will certainly enjoy that. He was immense breaking from midfield," said Hughton.
"Not only to get the three goals but to get them from a deeper midfield position against anybody is outstanding.
"He is our captain and he is a big player, but he is part of a team and everybody to a man was outstanding.
"It was a difficult first 20 minutes, but you expect that and if they had scored the first goal, then maybe it would have been a little bit different.
"But we did and we had enough to drive on from there."
The decisive win lifts the Toon to seventh in the table, providing a boost in confidence following their demoralising 4-0 defeat to Arsenal in midweek.
Hughton felt his entire team deserved full credit for Sunday's rout, and was impressed by their dedication.
He said: "The supporters loved what they saw today and what they saw today was 11 players, whichever 11 were on the park, they saw a committed team that took the game by the scruff of the neck, and they certainly deserve all the plaudits."
Arsenal 2/9, Draw 9/2, Newcastle 14/1
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