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Calories in / Calories Out -- simple fomula. Take in more than you burn and you gain weight, as already posted above, and it's worth another mention.
Of course, there are many ways to go about it so here's the one that worked for me. I went through this what seems like a long time ago, as these days I need to lose weight, BUT ...
I was around 135 and went to 165 by following a simple formula I read in an EAS Nutrition (makers of Myoplex protein shakes) workout / supplement book.
This applies if you're working out and the weight you want to gain is muscle/body mass vs. pure fat. For pure fat, yeah, just double up on the twinkies or whatever.
For increasing weight so you are stronger, more built, etc., this is what worked for me at the time:
1. Eat 5-6 meals a day. They can be a protein bar or whatever in between main meals (at work, for example) but you should be eating 5-6 meals a day consistently. It's crucial that each meal contains protein. A croissant, donut, etc., don't count as meals.
2. Take your DESIRED (goal) weight, and use a formula from anywhere to 1.5 - 2x grams of protein per desired pound of body weight per day to get there.
For example, you want to weigh 160 (let's say). 1.5x desired weight is 240 -- 2x would be 320. So, you should have between 240-320 grams of protein per day. The rest of the food, salad, veggies, fruits, etc., doesn't matter. Eat it but the protein is where it's at for adding good weight. Protein is also worth a lot of calories, naturally helping you to increase your intake.
3. Divide the grams of protein per day (let's take a round number of 300 from the range of 240-320 from #2 above) into your 5-6 meals. If you have 5 meals, then each meal should contain around 60 grams of protein. For 6 meals, each meal should contain around 50 grams of protein. You can deviate and it's a rule of thumb, but on a minimum of 1.5x desired weight, you should be eating 240g protein/day. At 5 meals that's 48g/meal.
4. Find the foods that will give you the protein you need. Combining 4 eggs with some smoked salmon or some sausages might get you to 40g protein. A plate of chicken wings, or 2 chicken breasts, will do the same. Do some research and put stuff together to get the protein numbers you need.
5. Work out. Don't do much cardio while you're trying to gain weight, as it will set you back. This is obviously personal but you should be exercising various muscle groups every week, doing lots of reps. This will help build muscle which weighs more than fat (it's more dense) and therefore you'll gain weight without looking or becoming fat.
6. Be patient and be consistent. You may have a really high metabolism and it may take a while to see results. Keep at it and you'll gain the weight.
This worked for me and got me from 135 lbs in high school to 165 lbs by age 20/21. I had good strength (still have some of it, lol) but my cardio sucked.
Once you hit your desired weight, increase cardio type stuff like martial arts, running, cycling, etc., to build up your endurance.
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